U. S. Climate Bill Would Be “Disaster”

(Sheldon Alberts — Canwest News Service)

Jim Prentice, the Minister of the Environment, yesterday warned U. S. lawmakers to drop proposed trade sanctions on imports from countries with higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions, saying the measure would be a “prescription for disaster” for the global economy.

In the Harper government’s toughest critique yet of draft U. S. climate legislation, Mr. Prentice told a Washington audience a proposal to slap a “carbon-border adjustment” fee on foreign manufacturers violates the core principles of international trade.

In addition, any U. S. decision to impose such a trade tariff threatens the chances of reaching an international climate change deal later this year in Copenhagen, Mr. Prentice said.

“Trade protectionism in the name of environmental protection would be a prescription for disaster for both the global economy and the global environment,” the Minister said in remarks at the State Department to the Conference of the Americas. Read more here.