E&E TV Interviews RFF's Ray Kopp on Congressional Climate Change Legislation
In an appearance on E&E TV's OnPoint in September, Resources for the Future Senior Fellow Ray Kopp shared insight into Congressional climate discussions and the prospects for economy-wide climate legislation in the coming months.
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"Certainly the Congress is moving at a pace that by standards of two years ago is light speed. Both in the House and Senate [there is] a tremendous amount of activity over the design parameters of important legislation...At the same time, there's a presidential campaign on its way...So, all those things together I think provide increased momentum for federal activity."
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The video and transcript of Kopp's interview are available on the E&E TV website. 
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Kopp emphasized that Congress must come to a consensus about emissions reduction targets and timelines, as well as design elements like a safety valve. Whether climate legislation takes the form of a cap-and-trade program or a carbon tax, Congress faces the political challenge of creating a bill that is both environmentally and economically successful.
"That's the fine balance--being able to hit the targets that you think you need to hit to maintain the climate at particular levels that you think are protective of human health and welfare, while at the same time not pushing so hard on the macro-economy that you cause slow downs or recessions or serious economic costs."
Kopp noted that nearly all of the climate proposals in consideration are still too vague with regard to implementation and expense. "Until we bring the cost side in we're not going to be able to make the kinds of tradeoffs that we need to choose among these various competing pieces of legislation," he said.
Kopp also observed that the United States has "a golden opportunity" to engage the international community on climate issues. "As soon as the next president is elected, you can be fairly sure that the world is going to look to that president and say, all right you're back engaged in the program now...Help us with some new ideas to move the ball forward."
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Resources for the Future, an independent and nonpartisan Washington, D.C., think-tank, seeks to improve environmental and natural resource policymaking worldwide through objective social science research of the highest caliber.
