Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., claimed the Senate was "on a short track" for shaping a climate change bill and eventually approving it, AFP reported. Kerry voiced his excitement over progress on the bill while acknowledging "that's completely contrary to any conventional wisdom."
Kerry made the comments at a forum sponsored by The New Republic magazine. Kerry added that "we're moving rapidly" on the bill. He argued against legislation that would focus solely on energy by saying that "an energy-only bill sends no price signal" on GHG emissions. Kerry was quoted as saying: "I don't care how we do it. I just think we have to price carbon because we have to send that signal to the marketplace."
Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., an author of the House bill, said a decision to cut back on fossil fuels would boost international negotiations: "We cannot preach temperance from a bar stool." Todd Stern, the main U.S. climate negotiator, said major nations would inevitably turn to smaller forums to negotiate unless the atmosphere changed: "We are fully supportive of the UN process, but it's going to be important that it function."
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