McCain tackles global warming

PORTLAND – In a major environmental speech, Sen. John McCain on Monday said he would combat global warming with a cap-and-trade system to cut carbon emissions and increased use of nuclear power and alternative energy.

“We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great,” said McCain, the Arizona senator and presumptive Republican presidential nominee. “The most relevant question now is whether our own government is equal to the challenge.”

He cited long-term declines in the Northwest snowpack, a drought in the Southwest and melting glaciers in Alaska and Norway as evidence the planet is warming.

McCain made his remarks at the U.S. headquarters for Vestas, a Danish company that is a global leader in wind power. He is scheduled to follow up today with an appearance at an environmental round-table at North Bend, Wash.

Former Washington Gov. Dan Evans, state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland and REI President Sally Jewell are among the round-table’s expected participants.

The Portland appearance reflects the importance that global warming is expected to play in the fall election.

McCain’s policies would represent a major change from President Bush, who has opposed a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions, and also balked at securing new international agreements to limit emissions.

“I will not shirk the mantle of leadership that the United States bears,” McCain said pointedly. “I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges.”

Under McCain’s plan, carbon polluters would have to meet emission targets. If they cut emissions below those targets, they could sell credits to other polluters.

“A cap-and-trade policy will send a signal that will be heard and welcomed all across the American economy,” McCain said. “And the highest rewards will go to those who make the smartest, safest, most responsible choices.”

Both Democratic candidates – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois – also have proposed cap-and-trade programs to combat greenhouse-gas emissions. But while McCain calls for a 60 percent reduction in U.S. carbon emissions by 2050, compared to 1990 levels, Clinton and Obama propose an 80 percent cut.

McCain’s plan reflects his maverick role within the Republican Party on climate change. He has journeyed to Norway to visit the site of a retreating glacier, held hearings to highlight the science behind global warming and twice joined with Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., in failed efforts to pass legislation to reduce greenhouse gases.

“He knows this stuff is real, and speaks with authority on the climate change issue,” said Kert Davies, research director for U.S. Greenpeace.

Still, McCain’s plan is drawing criticism from environmentalists.

One point of contention is the senator’s embrace of nuclear power, which doesn’t require the use of carbon-producing fossil fuels.

In his speech, McCain called nuclear energy a “powerful ally” in combating global warming, and said his cap-and-trade system would provide major incentives to build more nuclear plants in the United States.

Environmentalists, citing the still unresolved efforts to find a safe, long-term storage of nuclear wastes, want to see the focus kept on renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

“It is ironic that McCain speaks at Vestas, a leading wind-power company, and ends up talking about nuclear power, which is far more risky,” Davies said.

Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, makes no mention of increased use of nuclear power in his climate-change plan.