In First Senate Hearing on Energy and Climate Bill, Senator Kerry and Secretary of Energy Chu say U.S. is losing Energy Race

As the Senate held its first hearing on comprehensive energy and climate change, the first two witnesses raised a concern highlighted the week before by President Obama: other countries have taken the lead in the race to develop and produce the efficient and low-carbon technologies required for the 21st century.

Last week (from 27 through 29 October 2009), the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a series of hearings on the comprehensive energy and climate bill before the Senate--Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act.  The legislation is the Senate version of the climate bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year.

The topics covered in the first day's hearing (27 October) ranged from energy efficiency, jobs, energy independence, national security and climate impacts. John Kerry led the testimony off by addressing all the major issues of climate change including the benefits of action and the costs of inaction (see here and here for what Kerry said about climate impacts). One of his major points, which is reminiscent of President Obama’s MIT speech on 19 October 2009, is that America is losing its competitive edge in technology and innovation as the next major industry—clean energy—is led by other countries. Kerry stated:

 "…and as important as anything, if we act, the economic opportunities will be enormous: millions of new jobs and major improvements in every sector of the energy economy. But if we hang back, we know what will happen, because it is happening already. Today, only five of the top thirty companies in the world in solar, wind and advanced batteries are based in the United States. We invented solar and wind technology, but we let others master it first, and now Germany has created 280,000 renewable energy jobs and actually employs more people in its renewable energy sector than in the legendary German auto industry."

Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, also addressed American competitiveness and said the U.S. is losing the energy race.

The world now realizes that its current level of greenhouse gas emissions is unsustainable. In the coming years, there will be a vigorous effort to limit carbon pollution that will require a massive deployment of clean energy technologies. The only question is – which countries will invent, manufacture, and export these clean technologies and which countries will become dependent on foreign products?

China has already made its choice. China is spending about $9 billion a month on clean energy. It is also investing $44 billion by 2012 and $88 billion by 2020 in Ultra High Voltage transmission lines. These lines will allow China to transmit power from huge wind and solar farms far from its cities. While every country’s transmission needs are different, this is a clear sign of China’s commitment to developing renewable energy.

The United States, meanwhile, has fallen behind. The world’s largest turbine manufacturing company is headquartered in Denmark. 99 percent of the batteries that power America’s hybrid cars are made in Japan. We manufactured more than 40 percent of the world’s solar cells as recently as the mid 1990s; today, we produce just 7 percent.

To learn more about what individuals said regarding the impacts of climate change see our postings here and here.

To read testimony from the hearing, click here.