23 October 2006
U.S., European Environmental Policies Focus on Technology Advances
Bush administration's chief environmental policy adviser hosts online discussion
Washington -- The United States and Europe enjoy significant common ground on environmental policies, Jim Connaughton, chief environmental policy adviser to President Bush, said in an online discussion from Frankfurt, Germany, October 23.
“We are working very closely with European policymakers on long-term technology opportunities such as fusion power, the next generation of nuclear power, and zero-emission hydrogen energy systems,” Connaughton said. Short-term policy goals include renewable energy systems, renewable fuels, efficiency of buildings and appliances, vehicle fuel efficiency, relief of traffic congestion in cities and promotion of sustainable practices in forestry and agriculture.
Connaughton said specific U.S. policies and business leaders promote advancements in technology to meet mutual environmental goals, including commercializing “cellulosic ethanol,” a biofuel that can be made from a variety of crops, grasses and plant waste. (See related article and fact sheet.)
“Business leaders in the United States are strongly committed to taking sensible action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Connaughton said. “This will occur through increased investment in the best of today’s technologies and new technologies that are more efficient.”
The most successful strategies are those that reduce emissions at a substantial profit, according to Connaughton, and companies are saving money by redesigning processes and investing in more efficient technologies.
“In the United States,” Connaughton said, “many companies are now profitably capturing methane from coal mines, landfills and large agricultural operations and converting it to clean burning energy, instead of releasing it to the atmosphere.” U.S. policies are focused on expanding such opportunities for profitable investment, for example, by removing regulatory barriers and reducing taxes on such investments, he added.
He also said that recent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, focused public awareness on the need to build coastal communities that are more resilient to major weather events and to be prepared better for evacuation and response when they occur. Some parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast hit by Hurricane Katrina were more vulnerable to its effects due to historic loss of coastal wetlands, which otherwise provide a natural buffer to storm surges produced by hurricanes, Connaughton said.
Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is in Europe to attend the United States-European Union High Level Dialogue on Clean Development and Climate in Helsinki, Finland, October 24-25. The U.S. delegation to the Helsinki meeting is led by Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky.
Connaughton said he hopes the meeting will provide “many opportunities for both sides of the Atlantic to make real progress in tackling the challenge of cleaner development and climate strategies by harnessing the power and resources of strong economic growth.”
The transcript of Connaughton's discussion and information on upcoming webchats are available on USINFO's Webchat Station.
The press release on the Helsinki meeting announcing the delegation is available on the Web site of the U.S. Mission to the European Union.
For more information on U.S. policy, see the Web page Environment and the electronic journal Protecting the Environment.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
