Treasury Secretary Nominee Henry Paulson Endorses Kyoto Protocol

When I heard the news on CNBC about Goldman Sachs Chairman, Henry Paulson, being nominated for Bush’s treasury secretary, I thought nothing of it.  Just another big business guy (lemming) that will be hired to do the bidding of the Bush administration.  Even when Mark Hanes said Paulson was a nature lover and was often seen birding in Central Park, I had to laugh.  What kind of green washing was this?  However, when I read that Paulson not only endorses the Kyoto Protocol to limit greenhouse emissions, but argues that the US’s failure to enact Kyoto undermines our competitiveness, I started taking the guy seriously. 

Here’s a statement from the Nature Conservancy, where Paulson serves as chairman of the board:

The Kyoto Protocol is a key first step to help slow the onslaught of global warming and benefit conservation efforts…Until the United States passes its own limits on global warming emissions, innovative companies based here will lose out on opportunities to sell reduced emission credits to companies complying with the Kyoto Protocol overseas. Additionally, without enacting our own emission limits, U.S. companies will lose ground to their competitors in Europe, Canada, Japan, and other countries participating in the Protocol who are developing clean technologies.

The article on TP’s site received more than 87 comments – all hilarious and mostly intelligent – take a look and enjoy.

by
Erin Swanson
Eswanson@enviance.com