Practical Energy and Climate Plan Act of 2010

Dear Senator Lugar

I welcome your introduction today of the Practical Energy and Climate Plan Act of 2010.

In particular, I appreciate your ideas for reducing America’s oil dependence – which has taken on greater urgency as a result of the BP oil spill. I also commend your focus on energy efficiency, which as you have noted is the fastest, cheapest route to our energy and climate change goals. Even as we focus on efficiency, we also need a broad approach that includes building the next generation of nuclear power plants, deploying technologies to burn coal more cleanly, significantly expanding renewable power generation and a host of other clean energy technologies.

Moving to cleaner energy sources is both an environmental imperative and an enormous opportunity to create jobs and industries that will power our economy in the coming decades. I continue to believe that to fully capitalise on these opportunities we need comprehensive legislation that puts a price on carbon and makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy. From Germany to China, countries around the world are moving aggressively toward clean energy technologies and we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.

I thank you for your contribution to this vital effort. I look forward to working with you and the rest of the Senate to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation. Moving to a clean energy future is in the interests of all Americans, and it should not be a partisan issue.

Sincerely,

Steven Chu

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/10062010/practical_energy_and_climate_plan_act_of_2010/