Senator Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico) said a bill introduced in August would accelerate research on renewable and nuclear energy sources.
Under the legislation, an Office of Applied Energy Technology & Greenhouse Gas Management within the Department of Energy would be created. A comprehensive research programme within the office to address the effects of energy production on the global climate system would be established.
Domenici said: “We need to get beyond the hyperbole over the merits of the Kyoto Protocol, which is largely a political document rather than a serious attempt to solve a real global issue.
“The Senate has voted once already to reject the Kyoto agreement because it is seriously flawed. Kyoto put no restrictions on gas emissions of the developing nations, despite the fact that their emissions will soon exceed those of the developed nations like the United States.” The measure focuses on the use of technology to combat greenhouse gas emissions. The US would pursue a long-term strategy aimed at demonstrating technologies such as renewables, advanced fossil energy technologies, advanced nuclear power plant designs, fuel cell technologies and carbon sequestration technologies.
