Posted: 07/08/2004
Tort Reform Should Not Be Held Up By Global Warming
NCPA Experts Say Unrelated McCain-Lieberman Proposal Misguided; Ineffective
July 8, 2004 – A measure to control class-action lawsuits may be held hostage to global warming alarmism if the Senate is unable to end debate without having the measure loaded down with unrelated amendments. According to experts with the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA), if cloture is not reached, tort reform may be brought down by a bill that has already been voted down by this Senate. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) filed their climate change bill as an amendment to the class-action bill earlier this week.
NCPA Senior Fellow H. Sterling Burnett says “This is just one more endeavor to implement the energy rationing Kyoto Protocol on global warming through the backdoor. Kyoto will never see the light of day in the Senate, because there is zero real support for it. This very same proposal already failed in this Senate, so this is nothing more than an attempt to keep the issue alive during an election year.”
“As time goes on it becomes more and more evident that restricting greenhouse gasses as called for by this proposal will do little if anything to prevent global warming,” added Burnett. “Even members of the European Union (EU) are beginning to realize that emission reductions as called for under Kyoto and this bill will damage the economy, cause job losses and limit consumer choices.”
Burnett noted that at the same time the Senators are attempting to enact Kyoto through the back door, Kyoto is floundering among its most ardent supporters. The European Union office announced this week that only 5 of 25 EU states are ready to implement Kyoto next year, even though all had pledged to abide by Kyoto. Italy and Greece have failed to submit plans for abiding by Kyoto’s requirements. One reason for the foot dragging may be that the EU has estimated it will cost member nations between $3.6 to $8.4 billion to meet Kyoto targets.
Despite the high financial costs for abiding by the energy rationing requirements, experts note that neither Kyoto nor McCain-Lieberman’s “Kyoto Lite” would have any impact on future global warming. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, if all the signatories meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets, the temperature difference would be so small it couldn’t be measured by ground-based temperature gauges.
For more information on global warming issues or to speak with one of the NCPA’s team of environmental experts, contact the E-Team at 800-859-1154.