Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
19 Senators Call for Focus on Emitters like China When Working to Decrease Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) member, led a letter signed by 19 senators to President Biden this week urging the Administration to oppose the European Union’s (EU) unilateral implementation of a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and to instead work with developed countries on climate and trade policies targeted at the largest greenhouse gas emitters like China.
“Your Administration should safeguard U.S. commercial interests and oppose the EU’s unilateral action. The United States should not allow the EU to define a climate and trade standard it has not helped shape,” the senators wrote. “Before the EU invests too much political capital in implementing the CBAM, which we consider to be unfair to the United States, especially to our small businesses and manufacturers, your Administration must convince our European friends the better course would be to work with us and our other treaty allies to design a common approach to climate and trade policy focused on the real problem – greenhouse gas emissions growth from China and other major developing economies. Achieving this objective would produce a tangible benefit for the United States and demonstrate real global leadership as opposed to simply rejoining the Paris Agreement.”
The senators argue American manufacturers will be harmed by this proposal even though they have a similar, if not cleaner, carbon footprint than European producers. They also say efforts to address rising greenhouse gas emissions should focus on addressing those with larger footprints and lower standards like China.
Joining Senator Cramer’s letter were Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT), John Hoeven (R-ND), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Barrasso (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Braun (R-IN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TX), John Boozman (R-AR), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tim Scott (R-SC), John Kennedy (R-LA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and James Lankford (R-OK).