Paying for pollution

Even as President Clinton wrestles with the question of how much of the recent climate change is due to manmade sources and how much to natural climatic variation, new reports about technological abilities to reduce greenhouse producing pollutants without going broke show an encouraging trend. It is the opportunity to do well while doing good.

The studies, led by the U.S. Energy Department, are the result of a year’s work by five federal laboratories and have been independently reviewed. They show that savings from technological advances to reduce greenhouse emissions by 20 percent will largely offset the cost of making the improvements. And the study does not count the value of health benefits associated with cleaner air.

The study provides important information as the United States prepares for a meeting in Kyoto to discuss a commitment to reduce energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases. The United States, with 4 percent of the world’s population, uses approximately one-fourth of the energy consumed worldwide. Its position at the international meeting will be crucial to the agreement.

The Clinton administration appears to have become persuaded by the growing body of evidence from mainstream scientists that global warming is real and roughly measurable. A variety of other factors influence temperature as well, as demonstrated by a recent report in the journal Science that solar radiation reaching the earth is slightly hotter. But the decision for President Clinton is what can be done, practically, to offset the influence of pollution on atmospheric temperature. That is why the Energy Department findings are so important.

The findings, however, are also accompanied by a note of caution: researchers assumed a “vigorous national commitment” to developing the technologies and efficiencies to make the pollution reductions pay for themselves. That will require a level of leadership that has yet to emerge in Washington. The use of more fuel-efficient cars and alternative fuels, new lighting and appliances and improved construction materials cannot be introduced by fiat.

This is an opportunity for the president and Vice President Al Gore to live up to their reputations as environmentalists. They can steer environmental improvements by identifying markets — including the federal government — that will allow businesses to justify the expense of research and development. They can take the good news of the Energy Department study and find practical, long-term benefits for the country.