|
Capital Formation Newsletter
November-December 2001, Vol. 26, No. 6
ACCF and Center Elect New Directors
AT THEIR 2001 annual meeting, the directors of the American Council
for Capital Formation and ACCF Center for Policy Research elected
new board members. The ACCF and Center are pleased to welcome the
following distinguished new members to their boards.
Joining the ACCF’s board are J. Barry Griswell, chairman,
president, and chief executive officer, Principal Financial Group;
Thomas R. Kuhn, president, Edison Electric Institute; Hon. Gerald
L. Parsky, chairman, Aurora Capital Group; and Bob Stallman, president,
American Farm Bureau Federation. The ACCF Center for Policy Research
welcomes Dr. Kevin A. Hassett, resident scholar, American Enterprise
Institute, and Hon. Sidney L. Jones, former assistant secretary
for economic policy, U.S. Treasury Department, to the Center’s
board of scholars.
Center Roundtable Focuses on Climate Change Policy Post-Marrakech
THE ACCF Center for Policy Research hosted a roundtable forum on
“Climate Change Policy Post-Marrakech: Going Beyond Kyoto”
for the Washington diplomatic community on December 12. Diplomats
participating in the roundtable represented some 72 countries. Harlan
L. Watson, Ph.D., senior climate negotiator and special representative,
U.S. Department of State, keynoted the forum with remarks on the
U.S. perspective on climate change and international negotiations.
Speakers from several countries were invited to share their nations’
views on climate policy developments following the 7th Conference
of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Marrakech in November. Briefing forum participants were Samuel Aiyedona,
minister-counselor (political), Embassy of Nigeria; Christine Federlin,
first secretary, Delegation of the European Commission; Katherine
Foster, second secretary, Canadian Embassy; Meg McDonald, deputy
chief of mission, Embassy of Australia; and Karl Wollin, counselor,
science and technology, German Embassy. Margo Thorning, Ph.D., executive
vice president and director of research for the Center, moderated
the forum, the fourth in a series.
Setting the stage for the discussion, Dr. Thorning noted that the
greenhouse gas emission reductions required by the Kyoto Protocol
are only the starting point for targeted cuts. For example, recent
documents from the European Commission call for additional CO2 reductions
of 1 percent per year beyond the Kyoto targets after 2012. She also
observed that the often-mentioned goal of stabilizing CO2 concentrations
at 550 parts per million by 2050 would require that Annex I countries
cut their CO2 emissions to zero in order to allow developing countries’
emissions to grow. The “Kyoto Plus” cap would have a significant
impact on countries with large extractive industries as well as
on the prices paid by households and industry in importing countries,
Dr. Thorning concluded.
In his keynote remarks, Dr. Watson told participants, “President
Bush recognizes the serious nature of climate change…and has
committed to addressing climate change issues in a manner that protects
our environment, our economy, and our citizens.” He noted that
the Administration is moving aggressively on several climate change
initiatives that focus on enhanced science, advanced energy technology,
and sequestration research, but added “We believe the Kyoto
Protocol is not the only way, and is certainly not the best way,
to meet the Convention’s goal of stabilizing greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere.”
Dr. Watson concluded his remarks by stressing that the best approach
would be a gradual one, linked to a long-term conceptual goal flexible
enough to respond to new knowledge.
Diplomats participating in the roundtable discussed the implications
of the decisions reached at the Marrakech meeting and shared their
countries’ views on other climate policy issues.
|
