Avoid Regulating Carbon Dioxide.

Dear Senator:

On behalf of the more than 700,000 members of FreedomWorks, I urge you to oppose any efforts to include an early action credit for voluntarily limiting emissions, creating the framework for a greenhouse gas emissions cap as offered in 1612 of S. 388, Climate Change Technology Deployment and Infrastructure Credit Act of 2005.

Senator Hagel (R-Neb.) is pushing legislation that may pave the way for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and act as a backdoor attempt to enact the Kyoto Protocol. Environmental special interests have used global warming to call for restrictions on the use of fossil fuels, claiming that burning fossil fuels and other human activities are increasing greenhouse gases and pushing temperatures higher. However, the theory of human-induced climate change is far from settled, and there is not a consensus in the scientific community, which continues to identify uncertainties in both the scientific theory of global warming as well as the ability of the Kyoto Protocol to have any significant impact on global climate.

For consumers, there is good reason to be wary of efforts to cap greenhouse gas emissions, because the costs can be substantial. Implementing the Kyoto Protocol, for example, would cost American consumers more than $400 billion annually, according to the Energy Information Administration. At the same time, evidence is mounting that suggests the Kyoto Protocol would have little effect on global climate, despite the tremendous costs it would impose on consumers.

Sound energy policies are critical to a strong economy. Energy is an input to all the goods and services we consume. It heats and cools our homes, and fuels our transportation system. Affordable and reliable energy is an important component to continued economic growth, and the potential for new global warming mandates poses a real threat to consumers.

Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to working with you as we continue to find ways for working Americans to have reliable energy now and in the future.

Sincerely,

Matt Kibbe
President and CEO, FreedomWorks