Huntsman Steps Up His Call for Climate Change Policies

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Utah Governor Jon Huntsman will debut next week in a national TV ad calling for climate change legislation. Huntsman is featured in the ad alongside California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer:

"We're taking action," intones Schwarzenegger in the 30-second ad.

"Now it's time for Congress to act, in capping greenhouse gas pollution," adds Huntsman.

The ad is sponsored by a national environmental group lobbying Congress to cap CO-2 emissions and let high-polluting industries trade emissions credits to meet the goals. Huntsman says Congress can no longer afford to let disagreement over the causes of climate change delay action:

"Nothing effectively has been done as it relates to energy efficiency or a possible cap-and-trade system," says Huntsman. "Let's get serious about a national model we can work within. If we don't have something fairly soon, you're going to see regions of the country branching out to do their own thing. And I think that would be an unfortunate outcome."

Huntsman is appointing a committee to implement the recommendations of his Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change. He hopes one of those policies will be an aggressive goal to make renewable sources like wind and solar at least 20-percent of the state's energy portfolio by 2020.

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