President Romney: A Trick or a Treat for the Environment?

As governor, Romney made moderately pro-environment decisions for a Republican leader.  The thinking here is that Romney was getting in step with public inclinations in one of the most liberal states in the nation.  But, as Romney neared the end of his single term as governor and saddled up for the 2008 presidential race, his pro-business statements, particularly in opposition to the regulation of GHGs, began to overshadow his environmental record.  The departure from his earlier policies is more representative of today’s presidential candidate for the Republican Party than the man who entered the Massachusetts State House in 2003. 

The considerable distance between Governor Romney and the leader of the GOP charge to the White House can be found in Believe in America, the Romney team’s “Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth.”  Of the 59 policy proposals listed in the plan “that will get America back to work,” no less than 15 specifically involve cutting back on federal “overregulation” of industry in areas such as environmental permitting, GHGs, and the use of public lands for energy development.

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Perhaps the major environmental item on the Romney agenda is a promise to press Congress to amend the Clean Air Act (CAA) to exclude CO2 from its purview.  Should Congress agree to such legislation and should Romney be in the White House ready to sign it, it would necessarily result in dismantling the series of major regulatory actions the Obama administration has taken to control emissions of GHGs from vehicles and industrial stationary sources.  Even in the absence of a congressional amendment, a Romney presidency would probably undertake administrative rulemaking to rescind or at least weaken GHG regulatory actions such as the endangerment finding and the prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) permitting program for stationary sources.

Early Cap-and-Trade Believer

Such actions would represent a 180-degree reversal from the Romney who took charge of the Bay State in 2003.  Shortly after being elected, Romney got behind four-pollutant air regulations (for NOx, SO2, mercury, and CO2) for older power plants, leading to Massachusetts becoming the first state to set CO2 limits on power plants.  But Romney changed his tune in 2005, when he announced that Massachusetts would pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the cap-and-trade program intended to reduce CO2 emissions from power plants in nine Northeastern states.  (Romney’s successor, Deval Patrick, reenlisted Massachusetts in the program.) 

In his 2010 book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, Romney expressed uncertainty about how much of the changing climate is attributable to human activity.  “In fact, climate change has been going on from the beginning of the world; it is certainly not a new phenomenon,” wrote Romney.  “Even the apparent unity among scientists is not a sure indicator of scientific fact.” 

Romney’s uncertainty in the book does not extend to cap-and-trade and its various implementing policies, such as the Kyoto Protocol.  “I do not support radical feel-good policies like a unilateral U.S. cap-and-trade mandate,” wrote Romney.  “Such policies would have little effect on climate but could cripple economic growth with devastating results for people across the planet.”  Romney has reiterated objections voiced by virtually every conservative that signing up the nation to a mandatory international program to control GHG emissions without equal participation by China and India is economic suicide. 

But cap-and-trade is unlikely to be a major item of contention in any environmental discussions between the candidates or their supporters.  While Obama entered office expressing enthusiasm about the possibility of adopting a national cap-and-trade program that mirrored international agreements, the failure of Congress to pass the needed legislation in 2010 effectively pushed the policy down the administration’s environmental wish list. 

Election 2012: Where Do the Candidates Stand on Climate Change

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Economics of Vehicle Standards

A hotter topic will likely be the administration’s rules establishing vehicle CO2 limits and corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) standards for light-duty vehicles.  In May 2010, the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued joint GHG/CAFE standards for Model Years (MY) 2012 to 2016.  The agencies followed up in August 2012 with more stringent standards through MY 2025.  The rules are arguably the administration’s top environmental achievement to date mainly because the standards were endorsed by both environmental groups and automotive manufacturers.

But even with the auto industry’s backing of the standards, the Romney campaign has come out in opposition.  Following the recent regulatory action, a Romney spokesperson announced that the rules will limit the choices available to American families.  “The president tells voters that his regulations will save them thousands of dollars at the pump, but always forgets to mention that the savings will be wiped out by having to pay thousands of dollars more upfront for unproven technology that they may not even want," said Andrea Saul, the Romney campaign press secretary.

See tomorrow’s Advisor for more on Mitt Romney and the 2012 election.

See the 2012 Election resource center on Enviro.BLR.com to find out where both candidates stand on the issues that are important to you: Climate Change, Energy, Fracking, NEPA, ANWAR, and more.