Congressmen: China Must Reevaluate Climate Change Policy

By Sam Wechsler – Talk Radio News Service

Just after returning from a trip to China, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) disagree strongly with the Chinese government’s current environmental standards and political policies.

The pair made their comments on Monday at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Larsen said that the trip was focused primarily on the economy and to understand the Chinese government’s response to the recent global recession. He believes that at the United Nations’ Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in December, China will try to mandate the compulsory licensing of all intellectual property pertaining to climate change and energy consumption. That would mean that U.S. energy companies must license new alternative energy technologies to all countries.

“If the treaty licenses the theft of U.S. intellectual property across an area that may encompass 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. economy, the effect of the legislation will be to increase energy prices in the United States,” said Kirk. He fears that compulsory licensing of green energy intellectual property will cause further unemployment within the United States due to job loss in that sector.

“It became very clear that the top three priorities domestically [in China] are the same that I have and that Mark (Kirk) has – jobs, jobs, and jobs,” said Larsen.

Kirk said that the Chinese government was most concerned about employing their massive number of unemployed new college graduates, adding that China is investing an enormous amount in commodities: China bought a petroleum reserve and $80 billion in gold. He believes that the only reason they would do so is speculation on U.S. dollar inflation.