ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNS) Citing Pope Benedict XVI’s recent calls to protect nature, Alaska’s four Catholic bishops have urged Congress to take action on global climate change. "Addressing global climate change is about our responsibility to care for God’s creation and to care for one another, especially the weak and the vulnerable," wrote Alaska’s four bishops in a Nov. 17 letter to Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Democratic Sen. Mark Begich and Republican Congressman Don Young, the state’s only House member.
In the letter, Archbishop Roger L. Schwietz and retired Archbishop Francis T. Hurley of Anchorage joined Bishop Donald J. Kettler of Fairbanks and Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau in asking Alaska’s congressional delegation to support legislation such as the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009.
The bill, S. 1733, was introduced in October by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. On Nov. 5, it passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works by a vote of 11-1. It now advances to the full Senate.
According to Kerry, the 821-page bill is designed "to create clean energy jobs, promote energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy."
The bishops described the bill as a "collective opportunity to make morally and politically courageous decisions to confront the challenges of a changing climate."
But crafting a "sufficient political, economic and moral response" to the complex issue of global climate change is a difficult one, they acknowledged.
To help legislators fashion "meaningful" climate and energy legislation and elevate the "moral tenor" on the topic, the bishops outlined a "moral equation" of principles to follow: prudence, concern for the poor and solidarity among all people.
Based on these principles, the bishops called for the inclusion of three "prudent actions" in legislation: "Reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible"; dedicate at least $3.5 billion of the revenue generated by the cap-and-trade system to help the poor in developing countries "adapt to climate change"; and protect the poor in the U.S. — including those in Alaska’s "most vulnerable communities" — from harm caused by "any potential rise in energy prices."
Among a myriad of provisions, the Kerry bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to set greenhouse gas emission standards for certain new vehicles and establish grants to states for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
It also would require federal agencies to formulate a "unified and comprehensive strategy to address the key legal, regulatory and other barriers to the commercial-scale deployment of carbon capture and storage" and establish various programs to develop jobs in nuclear power plants and promote water-efficient products.
The bill also authorizes appropriations for its implementation.