The 36th Annual West Virginia Mining Symposium
February 18, 2009
Thank you Bill (Raney) for that very kind introduction.
And thanks to you and Chris Hamilton and the entire West Virginia Coal Association for inviting me to speak with you today.
I want to talk very directly with you about what I see on the horizon in West Virginia and in Washington for coal, for climate change, and for a national energy policy.
We have a great deal at stake – with some unprecedented opportunities, and some real risks and I want us to go into it together.
I don’t need to tell you that these are very challenging times for our country and that the coal and climate debate is happening during one of the most turbulent economic times in American history.
In the Congress and in Washington, the tectonic plates are shifting. We are seeing a move toward comprehensive climate change legislation and it is very real.
We are by nature on the more cautious side in West Virginia, and with good reason. We know that if we don’t look out for ourselves and for each other, no one else is going to.
And for a long time the careful, self-protective approach for the extraction industries – coal and others – has been to stick with what we know and what has worked. To keep on making the case that coal is essential and fundamental to our nation and to keep on mining and processing it in the same basic way we always have. With some improvements, of course.
But what I have come to understand – and I’ve spoken to many of you about this before, and know many of you see it too – is that the situation for coal and energy has just about been turned on its head. The discussion hasn’t just shifted – it’s catapulted – to a whole new dialogue and a whole new framework.
Don’t misunderstand me – coal must and will be at the table – it is essential to our economic security and to our national security. We can promote and elevate and invest in every green energy idea that’s out there, and we still won’t come close to addressing the nation’s present to future energy needs. Period.
But today the cautious approach for us – the way to protect our state and our people and secure the future of this industry (and the country) – is for us to move aggressively to create low-carbon technologies for every sector, and to capture and sequester the rest.
The reality of that proposition is very, very challenging.
But my point is that today the right approach for all of us – and therefore the prudent approach for all of us -- is in fact the most forward-leaning.
West Virginia remains in a better economic situation than most states, and that is due in large part to you. Our coal industry is strong and resilient and still seeing good production numbers.
However, the reality is that that over the 9 months to a year we have seen our economic reality change rapidly – there is no guarantee that next year will be better.
You are not immune from the troubles we’re facing today. And I know you are working simultaneously to overcome short term economic hurdles and position coal for long term success.
I believe that most – not all, but most – pragmatic policy makers are ready to breathe more life in to coal’s future by investing in the technology that will make it competitive in a carbon constrained economy. We just need to get on board together to make sure coal retains its leading role in our energy mix.
One fact is clear- we are facing a Congress and an Administration that absolutely will write climate change legislation. In the next 2 to 3 years, this legislation will enforce that carbon emissions will have to be cut way down. If the coal industry is proactive and willing to push ahead, we have 250-400 years of a healthy future for Coal.
I know there are some people out there who refuse to acknowledge the importance of coal. We know there is simply no way to live in a healthy and thriving economy -- and a secure America free from a dependence on foreign oil -- without coal.
But it will get harder- some recognize climate change - some don’t - my advice: get on board.
You know I have always fought to make that message heard in Washington. Over the past many years working together we’ve had some great victories.
Working with Democratic and Republican coal state Senators, we invested $6 billion in AML and we passed mine safety legislation based on shared concerns.
In the last energy bill we made sure that $2 billion in coal tax incentives were agreed to.
Let me be clear: we have a new Congress, we have a new White House, we will have a new climate change bill, we will have a new energy bill, and we will have a new dawn.
And in the last few weeks and months I fought hard, both with the Administration and in Congress, to include $3.4 billion for advanced coal and carbon sequestration technologies in the Reinvestment and Recovery Act that passed the Congress last week.
This funding includes $800 million for the Clean Coal Power Initiative, $1.5 billion for industrial carbon capture and energy efficiency improvement projects, $1 billion for fossil energy research and development.
This real funding for research and deployment of the next generation of coal technology provides a solid beginning to our work to transform coal and inspire a growing.
We have a different White House now – and that is in fact good news for this industry. They are smart, practical people, who understand economics, focus on the future and, like me, want to think big and act boldly.
I have spent a lot of time with President Obama over the last year and what I can tell you is that while President Obama does want our country and our economy to tackle the realities of climate change – he has no intention of cutting coal out because he knows we would grind to a halt. He gets it.
I can also tell you that when discussions began early this year on how to jumpstart our economy, I pushed very hard with some of his top officials – including Treasury Secretary Geithner during his confirmation hearing, Larry Summers, and Energy Czar Carol Browner.
I made very clear where I stand – they listened and they agreed.
The reality facing ALL of us – together – is that there simply cannot be serious discussions about energy independence or climate change unless we’re willing to make immediate, significant, and sustained investments in carbon capture and sequestration.
So, we took a positive early step – and we brought coal to the table with the passage of this economic recovery plan.
And now – next -- in order to get advanced coal technologies to where we need them to be, we’ve got to institute an even more ambitious plan.
I feel confident that that there will be more opportunities soon to fight for needed funds and projects – and win.
Up until now, we have been tinkering at the margins of taking coal effectively and more profitably in to the 21st century.
We must adopt a much more assertive effort – and that means a massive research and development plans.
Last the year the Senate debated Climate Change legislation. While that bill never got to the amendment process is was defiantly not as supportive of coal as it needed it be.
That is why I threw down the marker when I introduced legislation to create a future fuels corporation – a research facility that would bring together the best and brightest scientific experts to hasten the development of carbon capture and sequestration, which must be part on any new climate legislation considered this year.
We need to evaluate where the science stands on reducing carbon emissions, where the funding is, and what we can do to bring those two pieces together.
I think of you and fight as hard as I know for what I know to be right. I believe in you – you are what makes this country tick and it is your hard work that ignites the engine that drives this great nation.
We are America. We’re the strongest, most resilient country in the world. And it’s during these times of great challenge when we grow for the better. It’s during times like these when we become stronger.
And while I may sound like a broken record, I just cannot say this enough - the world is changing.
As I look around Washington today, I see that coal still needs its strong advocates – perhaps now more than ever.
I rely on your counsel, and I rely on your friendship. And I want you to know you can count on me.
