Seattle Times

Dec. 9, 2004

WASHINGTON—A bipartisan panel of energy experts said yesterday that regulation of climate-changing pollution and improved automobile-fuel efficiency must be an essential elements of the nation's energy agenda—a view that clashes with the White House and many members of Congress.

After two years of discussions, the National Commission on Energy Policy, a privately financed group, issued a report that sought to forge a middle path on such polarizing issues as climate change and auto-fuel economy.

It also embraced a broad range of initiatives, from increased government spending to develop a new generation of nuclear-power plants to more aggressive support for developing clean coal technology and support for development of renewable-energy sources.

But the group's recommendations on climate change and fuel economy represented an attempt to find a compromise that would address issues that have been largely ignored during four years of congressional debate on energy legislation.

The 16-member panel—made up of business leaders, former government officials, environmentalists and labor leaders—concluded unanimously that voluntary emissions reductions favored by the Bush administration will fall short of doing the job.

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National Commission on Energy Policy