Treasury Secretary Nominee: Failure To Ratify Kyoto Undermines

[cal04]

Treasury Secretary Nominee Says Failure To Ratify Kyoto Undermines U.S. Competitiveness

President Bush’s new nominee for Treasury Secretary, Goldman Sachs Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., not only endorses the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse emissions, but argues that the United States’ failure to enact Kyoto undermines the competitiveness of U.S. companies. Here’s a statement from the Nature Conservatory, where Paulson serves as chairman of the board:

The Kyoto Protocol is a key first step to help slow the onslaught of global warming and benefit conservation efforts…Until the United States passes its own limits on global warming emissions, innovative companies based here will lose out on opportunities to sell reduced emission credits to companies complying with the Kyoto Protocol overseas. Additionally, without enacting our own emission limits, U.S. companies will lose ground to their competitors in Europe, Canada, Japan, and other countries participating in the Protocol who are developing clean technologies.

Goldman Sachs, under Paulson’s leadership, argued that the danger from global warming is imminent and requires “urgent” action by government to reduce emissions:

Climate change is one of the most significant environmental challenges of the 21st century and is linked to other important issues such as economic growth and development… Goldman Sachs is very concerned by the threat to our natural environment, to humans and to the economy presented by climate change and believes that it requires the urgent attention of and action by governments, business, consumers and civil society to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

As a result, Paulson’s nomination is strongly opposed by a coalition right-wing groups seeking to cast doubt on climate science, such as the National Center for Public Policy Research, describing Paulson as “diametrically opposed to the positions of Administration.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/30/treasury-secretary-kyoto/

[northzax]

1. what? a prominent, successful business man who believes in science?

time to Powell him, bring him into the fold and neutralize him.

Mr. Paulson, understand that a 24 year old college dropout will be editing your speeches for content to ensure ideological purity. You, sir, are a sucker.

[SharonRB]

7. He should actually be qualified for the position.

So he probably won't be confirmed.

[northzax]

11. oh, he's eminently qualified.

which is why I'm shocked he'd take the job. It's pretty thankless.

[Poiuyt]

13. If he's qualified, I'm shocked that Bush would nominate him

[SharonRB]

15. To me, that's the larger question

Maybe he figures he won't get confirmed and he can say, "Well, I nominated him, it's not my fault Congress didn't confirm him." Then he can nominate someone he really wants who is totally unqualified for the job.

[neoblues]

2. Cool... (and we could use more Cool in so many ways)

That's some seemingly good news, though it's positively out of character for this administration, much less republicans in general since this particular attitude seems to actually involve rational thought and recognition of reality. Still, we see that despite the opinion of this one man and his previous company on this one issue, there are plently of republican/right-wingnuts that remain as deluded as ever.

I wonder at those who don't believe in Global Warming or that human activity is the cause... what do they think... "Hmmm... well it doesn't seem consistent to me that our God would allow such a thing... therefore it must not be happening." or "Those evil, unbelieving scientists must be trying to trick us... it's really Satan's plan to make us waste our precious money on trying to fight a non-existant 'global warming'... (after all, he's the one with all the excess heat?)". And what about the obviously melting glaciers? "What glaciers? I don't see any glaciers?... Just a bunch of ice anyway...". Are their brains constipated or what?

[The Deacon]

3. Uh-oh

Didn't Junior clear this appointment with Deadeye? Uncle Dick may have to take Junior to the woodshed.

[w13rd0]

4. Maybe Bush is going to start...

...replacing everyone with people who do the right thing. He should start with himself and Cheney. But this is interesting news nonetheless. I wonder if he'll continue with this philosophy, or be forced to toe the Bush line of covering his eyes and ears and pretending the problem doesn't exist.

[stellanoir]

5. wow a rational nominee???

[halobeam]

6. rational, or letting this one fall, so he can nominate who he really wants

hmmmmmm.. sounds familiar, doesn't it? Nothing makes clear sense to me. When he makes sense, he's up to something, or making a Bush error. No trust whatsoever from me.

[stellanoir]

14. ooooooooooo

As in putting up Meirs to force in an Aleito. You're probably right.

I can be so naive at times.

There ain't a lot to trust in * world.

8. somebody made a mistake - Bush and Nature Conservancy

That is strange.

[nickinSTL]

10. a board member of the Nature Conservancy?

:wow:

:wtf: is up with this nomination?

[Spazito]

9. I wonder how soon he will recant and say that was then and

now Kyoto is a bad, bad idea. I suspect he will as soon as he is questioned on it.

[JohnnyRingo]

12. He'll have to be properly briefed by the Buxh White House....

They'll tell him to take all the experience he gained working at Goldman-Sachs. ... and do the opposite.