Lunch Remarks: Senator Lisa Murkowski and Senator Mark Warner

Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke to our lunchtime audience. Here is a summary of her remarks:

The stakes in the energy debate are real and high. Our economy, national security, and standard of living depend on energy. The economy makes meeting these energy challenges more difficult, but more necessary. Things to keep in mind:

The transition to low-carbon economy won't happen quickly. You can't flip a switch. The process of transferring to low-carbon fuel will take years.

We can't just focus on one option -- we must pursue all of the energy options.

Climate change isn't just an abstract threat -- it's real and it affects real people. So how do we reduce emissions? Invest in low-carbon tech that keeps energy affordable.

There are many policies that can promote clean energy. We should reduce our dependence on foreign oil and focus on energy produced in America. The perfect shouldn't be the enemy of the good -- we should focus on solutions while continuing discussion of how to create better policy.

We need more flexible instruments to deal with emissions, not just blunt policy.

I'm serious about climate change, but I'm serious about climate change legislation that will help the economy.

International action must be part of the solution. American regulation should be substantial, so that US businesses aren't uncertain about where they stand and how best to proceed.

Senator Mark Warner also spoke. Here is a summary of his remarks:

Delaying action on climate change would be a financial, competitive, and potentially environmental disaster.

Security risk: the cost of shipping lines to our troops in the middle east proves that energy is a national security issue.

The rest of the world, in bits and starts, is arriving at a consensus that energy is an environmental and moral issue. They need leadership, and America should be at the front of the pack.

Energy is the biggest growth sector of the twenty-first century.

Changing our energy mix -- fueling vehicles, where we live, how we live -- all has to do with infrastructure issues. Looking at countries around the world who've changed their infrastructure and changed their outlook.

If America is going to maintain its leading economic power role, we have to be involved in the game. Other countries are leaping and bounding ahead of us.

Innovation: it's not going to take 30 or 50 years to transform -- putting off the decision won't make it any easier. In the 1980s, Wall Street and industry leaders said cell phones would be owned by 3 % of the market -- after 30 years of building infrastructure. Adaptation can happen fast and can happen despite the long-term predictions of leaders.

We need a robust transition to a clean-energy economy. We need to make sure our international competitors don't have an unfair advantage. The most significant thing we can do is send a signal to American entrepreneurs and innovators that energy transformation is here to stay.

— Sarah Spooner

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