Friday, February 23, 2007

Global Climate Change

The Legislative Committee on Global Climate Change, on which I sit, met to make recommendations to the legislature for the long session. We were joined by a delegation of members of the British Parliament, who stressed the global nature of the debate and congratulated us on working on this problem. The delegation has been traveling across the country studying energy and global warming related issues.

The committee made several recommendations for legislation and other changes including the following:

  • Adopt a renewable energy and efficiency portfolio standard (similar to my bill, HB77, although no specific percentages were recommended), moving us away from fossil fuels and toward alternative energy choices;
  • Establish a public benefits fund with a small surcharge on utility bills to pay for efficiency and conservation measures;
  • Establish a greenhouse gas registry and inventory, and adopt a goal for limits on carbon emissions;
  • Promote more energy efficient building standards; and
  • Set new efficiency standards for appliances sold in North Carolina.

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