Press Release Says, Proposed Federal Energy Legislation Would Benefit Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline

Posted: July 24th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: 2009, 2009

(ANCHORAGE, July 17, 2009) – Legislation being considered by Congress to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide would help pave the way for construction of the Alaska natural gas pipeline, according to Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage), Co-chair of the Senate Resources Committee.

The legislation would encourage use of renewable energy sources and cleaner burning fuels, such as natural gas, which emits 30% less carbon dioxide than oil and 45% less than coal.

“This legislation would create more demand and higher prices for natural gas, making construction of an Alaska gas pipeline more likely,” Wielechowski said.  “Construction of the gas line is critical to Alaska’s future.  It will provide jobs, energy and billions of dollars in revenue to the state.  Given this, I was surprised by the Governor’s recent opposition to the legislation.”

In an opinion piece this week in the Washington Post, Palin said proposed cap and trade legislation would “inflict permanent damage” on America’s economy.   This contrasts with the position she took last October during her debate with Vice President Biden.  When asked then whether she supported capping carbon emissions, Palin said “I do. I do.”

Several high-ranking members of the Palin Administration have also testified that legislation capping carbon emissions would support construction of a natural gas pipeline, the state’s number one priority.

On March 25, Mark Myers, whose job it is to ensure progress on the pipeline, told legislators that cap and trade legislation would support gas line construction by increasing the demand for and price of cleaner, lower carbon natural gas.  This view was echoed on April 7 and again on June 3 by Tony Palmer, president and CEO of TransCanada Alaska, the company that has been granted an AGIA license by the state to build the pipeline.

Wielechowski noted that the Governor’s own consultants, Black and Veatch—a leading global construction company specializing in major energy projects—estimated that the demand for natural gas in the Lower 48 will be 12.1 billion cubic feet a day higher by 2042, if legislation to reduce carbon emissions is passed.

Capping carbon emissions may also help Alaska avoid some of the negative economic and environmental consequences of global climate change.

A recent report by the federal government found that Alaska has warmed at more than twice the rate of the rest of the United States.  Average annual temperatures rose by 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 50 years, while winter temperatures increased by 6.3 degrees.  Precipitation also increased by 30% between 1988 and 1990 over much of the state.

This increase in temperature has led to widespread thawing of permafrost, causing roads to buckle, buildings to sink, and damage to runways, water and sewer systems, and other infrastructure.

It has also led to thinning of sea ice, exposing Alaska’s coastal communities to more severe storm surges and coastal erosion.  Three communities (Shishmaref, Kivalina and Newtok) have already begun relocation plans – a process that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and disrupt the lives of residents.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified another 160 rural communities threatened by erosion. Thinning of sea ice also threatens populations of ice-dependent marine mammals, such as walrus and polar bears, and subsistence livelihoods.  Climate change may also have negative effects on the state’s billion dollar commercial fisheries.

In the Interior, warming has increased the risk of wild fires and insect infestations, such as the spruce bark beetle, which has killed millions of acres of trees in Alaska since 1992, the largest loss to insects ever recorded in North America.

“Given the seriousness of the economic and environmental challenges Alaska faces due to global climate change, Alaska’s leaders shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the proposals under consideration.”

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