At Commerce, we also chair the intergovernmental committee that oversees the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). And we operate a small secretariat in Commerce to coordinate the PNGV activities. PNGV has proven that government and industry can work together and can pursue, in parallel, both public and private goals. And it has proven-witness the concept cars unveiled in Detroit a month ago that bold technological goals, often beyond the realm of imagination, the realm of what some think was possible, can be obtained if we work together. Our success with PNGV to date leads me to believe that we can tackle issues like climate change and do it in a way that keeps American industry competitive and ahead of the curve, keeps American workers employed, and keeps our American economy humming. With or without the Kyoto accord, these kinds of investments in new technologies make sense for America. [Mr. Bachula's prepared statement and biography follow:] Testimony of GARY R. BACHULA Acting Under Secretary for Technology Technology Administration U.S. Department of Commerce before the COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES on the subject of THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE'S CURRENT AND PLANNED GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE INITIATIVES Mr. Chairman, members of the House Science Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to talk about the Commerce Department's part in the President's climate change initiative. Global climate change is the primary environmental challenge facing not only the United States, but the world. Building on a solid foundation of climate science, President Clinton is committed to strong and sensible action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A key element of the President's program is a $6.3 billion investment in tax cuts and R&D for new technologies over five years. Under the President's FY 1999 budget, the Commerce Department would receive $7 million for new climate change technology initiatives. My remarks this morning will focus on the Commerce Department's current research efforts to alleviate the causes of global climate change, as well as proposed activities under the President's Global Climate Change Initiative. First, however, let me begin with a few words about the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—recognized around the world as an authority in the science of the environment-whose work is focused on gaining a better scientific understanding of the nature of climate change. NOAA has played a key role in the development of periodic state-of-science assessments and professional literature developed by the United Nations and professional scientific bodies, such as the recently published special report, "Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability," of the 1998 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. NOAA also plays a key advisory role to the President and other Federal policy makers. For example, a NOAA laboratory director served as science advisor to the U.S. delegation at the December 1997 meeting at Kyoto on climate change, playing a critical role in ensuring climate change discussions were informed by objective scientific input. NOAA programs have been monitoring, collecting data, and carefully analyzing changes in the environment for many years. One especially valuable program periodically collects air samples from some 50 locations worldwide to enable a better understanding of the global carbon cycle and its effect on climate. The station at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, has maintained the world's longest continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide monitoring. This information is a key benchmark for climate change studies. The Department of Commerce, through NOAA, is also a key participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program a multiagency effort to improve our understanding of medium and long term climate fluctuations and climate change. NOAA's work helps ensure that objective scientific knowledge informs decision making about Federal environmental policies and programs. The Department will be happy to provide answers to any questions you may have about Now, before I get to a detailed discussion of the Commerce Department's programs, let me take a minute to establish the global economic and environmental context for our efforts. Global Economic Growth, Industrialization Stressing the Environment Mr. Chairman, globalization and the rapid advancement of technology are driving worldwide economic growth and rapid industrialization in nearly every corner of the world. However, robust economies, new jobs, and individual prosperity, are also placing increased stress on our global environment-on our lakes, streams, rivers, oceans, land, and air. In the emerging industrial nations, economic growth is lifting millions out of poverty. In East Asia alone, the number of poor fell from 400 million in 1970 to 180 million in 1990, and China has lifted an estimated 175 million people out of poverty. These nations are preparing for further growth, expanding their road systems and establishing other infrastructure. As time goes on, standards of living will rise for more and more people and consumer demand will grow. For example, China projects that its domestic market for automobiles will grow from 180,000 autos in 1992, to 1.5 million in 2003—an annual average growth rate of more that 66 percent. Auto sales in South Korea already reached 1.5 million in 1993, and 15 percent average annual growth is projected for several years. And while the most rapid growth is taking place in emerging economies, growth in the United States is also having an impact on the global environment. By the end of 1993, there were 194 million registered motor vehicles in the United States. These vehicles contribute about third of our smog-related air pollution, and one-third of our carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global climate change. According to some projections, there could be nearly 270 million registered vehicles in the United States by the year 2010. Economic Growth and Environmental Protection: Compatible Goals For decades the public debate on economic growth and environmental protection was framed by the belief that progress in either area came at the expense of the other. In many minds, the linkage between global growth and environmental impact has seemed clear-more growth, more pollution; less growth, less pollution. Those who stood strongly for economic growth were deemed opponents of the environment, while those who stood for environmental protection were deemed opponents of progress and prosperity. Five years ago, President Clinton brought to office a new way of thinking—a solid belief that we, as a Nation, could-and must-pursue both economic growth and environmental protection simultaneously. He recognized that a choice between a higher standard of living and a cleaner environment was a false choice-Americans want both. And so he committed the United States to a new course, one that rejects the notion that we must choose between jobs and the environment. In Technology for a Sustainable Future, the President sets out the challenge before the United States and the world—sustainable development—and the path to success-an effective partnership between the public and private sector to develop and deploy technologies that will protect the environment while sustaining economic growth. This path is built on a foundation of faith in our ability to "do good" and "do well" at the same time. |