3. CAMPAIGN 2008: McCain, Obama on same page with EPA climate regulations (Greenwire, 07/15/2008)

Darren Samuelsohn, Greenwire senior reporter

Advisers to the two leading presidential candidates agreed today on the need for Congress to tackle global warming through comprehensive cap-and-trade legislation as opposed to using their own U.S. EPA to write the rules.

Speaking at a Washington forum hosted by the National Journal, surrogates for Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama each said their respective candidates would prefer to work with lawmakers in crafting the U.S. response to climate change.

"We don't think the Clean Air Act is the right vehicle to deal with climate change," said Doug Holtz-Eakin, a senior domestic policy adviser to McCain. "That's one of the reasons he wants to do the cap-and-trade legislation. To give clear authority to the federal government and create the institutions that can carry it out."

Elgie Holstein, a senior energy policy adviser to Obama, offered a similar perspective on the Supreme Court's decision in April 2007 that opened the door to federal agencies regulating for greenhouse gas emissions.

"The authority affirmed by the courts to use the Clean Air Act to achieve climate obligations is certainly something that ought to be an encouragement to bring about a comprehensive framework," Holstein said. Of Congress moving legislation, he added, "Senator Obama believes that's the preferred course of action to take."

Last Friday, the Bush administration's EPA opened a six-month public comment period on the prospect of regulating for greenhouse gases that was largely seen as a punt to the next White House.

Asked about that new EPA rulemaking process, Holtz-Eakin signaled that a McCain administration would not be interested in finishing the job. "If we win, we'll assess where they are," he said. "But it wouldn't be his preferred route to go."

Holstein said the Obama campaign hasn't determined what it would do with the Bush EPA rulemaking process. "We haven't gotten into that amount of detail," he said. "It's the difference between campaigning and governing."

On climate legislation, both Obama and McCain have detailed campaign positions favoring a cap-and-trade programs, albeit with many different specifics.

Overall, Obama would limit midcentury emissions about 80 percent while McCain's plan seeks about a 60 percent reduction in 2050. Obama backs distributing all emission credits via auction, while McCain would start with some free allowances for industry and a gradual transition toward an auction. Both candidates have said they want to use auction revenue to raise trillions in new revenue that can be sprinkled across a range of their favorite federal programs.

Differences on air pollution?

Obama and McCain may have some differences on how they would address other forms of air pollution besides greenhouse gases.

Holstein called Friday's federal appeals court opinion striking down the Bush-EPA's Clear Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) a "terribly disappointing decision." And Holstein said Obama has "immediately pledged to go back to the drawing board to try to deal with those pollutants."

Citing industry concerns about the rejection of CAIR, Holstein added, "There could be a basis for us to work together in a bipartisan fashion."

Holtz-Eakin said he had not studied the CAIR decision and declined comment on the specific ruling. Pressed to explain the candidate's views broadly on air pollution, Holtz-Eakin cited McCain's comments in 1973 upon his release from a North Vietnam prisoner of war camp.

"His first interview when he came back from Hanoi, they asked him in San Diego, what do you notice that's different? He said the place is cleaner and it was the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act."

The GOP campaign adviser added that McCain may be open to a broader legislative fix on air pollution that comes alongside efforts to deal with global warming. "He's always believed these things are important, and now we're seeing sort of this ossification in our regulatory structures and our ability to deal with these things," Holtz-Eakin said. "All of the ozone levels were in noncompliance. It just begs for a rethinking of the whole strategy. Climate change is an opportunity to do that."

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