Democrat's energy platform promotes US coal

Democrat's energy platform promotes US coal, moving 'beyond OPEC'

Washington (Platts)--27Jul2004


Democrats meeting in Boston to nominate Massachusetts Sen John Kerry as their
candidate for president are promising to support coal as a key domestic fuel
for power generation and say the party would "move beyond OPEC" by
diversifying sources of oil in the US and abroad. The party also calls for
investing billions of dollars in technologies to generate electricity with
less pollution. "We believe coal must continue its important role in a new
energy economy, while achieving high environmental standards," the 2004
Democratic National Platform Committee Report says. In addition to
low-emission coal technology, the platform says a Kerry White House would
invest in hydrogen power. It supports "mandatory, enforceable reliability
standards" and creation of public-private partnerships to create more flexible
and resilient power systems that are environmentally friendly. The party also
vows to strengthen the Clean Air Act's controls on major polluters, reduce
mercury emissions, smog and acid rain and address climate change.

The platform promises to "work with the private sector to create partnerships
that make a profit and a cleaner world for us all." On oil, the platform
promises to encourage "more diverse sources of oil around the world and here
at home." The party supports "balanced development of domestic oil supplies in
areas already open for exploration, like the Western and Eastern Gulf of
Mexico" and supports expansion of "new infrastructure to develop supplies from
non-OPEC nations like Russia, Canada and nations in Africa." The platform also
says Democrats would increase the "efficiency of natural gas use, develop the
Alaska natural gas pipeline and enhance our nation's infrastructure to help
supply natural gas more effectively." yet the platform reiterates Democrats'
reluctance to open federal lands for energy development, saying that while it
would "use our natural resources to fuel our economy," it would "end
Republican giveaways to special intersts that exploit public lands without
regard to envirnomental consequences."

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