Good News: Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act Fails in Senate

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 20:24:52 +0000

My first reaction to the failure of the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act was disappointment. The Senate was unable to defeat a filibuster led by Minority Leader McConnell and Senators Allard (CO), Inhofe (OK), and Cornyn (TX) and fell 12 votes shy of cloture. The bill also did not have enough support to override Bush’s promised veto. Once again the US government failed to act on climate change; however, the news is not all bad. Lieberman-Warner was weak legislation, and it did not follow scientific recommendations to limit carbon emissions.

Lieberman-Warner was not opposed by a majority of environmental groups, and it was recognized as an important step. Dave Hamilton, director of global warming and energy programs for the Sierra Club, explained the flaws in the legislation, “We’d like to see the targets and timetables stronger,” although the Sierra Club supported Lieberman-Warner. Hamilton was not alone in concern over the bill. 1Sky, an organization that did oppose the bill, felt we should not back it because it only offers a band-aid solution. Betsy Taylor, President of the 1Sky campaign’s Board of Directors stated:

This bill failed on two fundamental measures and that is why 1Sky and many others did not support it. It would not have reduced carbon emissions as deeply or as quickly as the world scientific community says is necessary to address global warming. And, it would have given more money to the bloated fossil fuel industry, and left ordinary Americans paying too much for rising energy bills.
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Good News: Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act Fails in Senate