Tony Knowles on Energy & Oil 2004 former Democratic Challenger for Senate (AK; previously served as Governor)

Qualified support of BP-Arco merger

After a seemingly innocuous first round, Palin put Knowles on the ropes by pummeling him with questions about the BP-Arco merger. It was her most impressive sparring of the campaign, and she won the round by sounding knowledgeable but not nasty.

Include producers & all proposals in negotiating pipeline

KNOWLES: I would look to all of the proposals to see what is the best deal for Alaska. And there is a clear difference between Sarah an myself. This is a pivotal time. The next governor is going to have to sit down with Alaska business leaders, members of the oil and gas industry and others to negotiate an Alaska gas line on Alaska’s terms. I’ve asked Sarah what experience she has in negotiating a project and she says she doesn’t pretend to have the expertise and would hire people. Well, this is a pivotal point. Sarah has refused to meet with the executives and employees of ConocoPhillips, BP, Alyeska, with the regional CEOs of the Native corporations. I believe that we cannot afford to have a governor who is AWOL. You cannot delegate leadership.

PALIN: That is an untruthful statement. I’ve met with Exxon; with ConocoPhillips; with the BP employee group. So, that’s not true.

Support drilling the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

KNOWLES: Knowles, who also supports drilling in the refuge, said Republicans have failed because they have not reached across party lines--something he has promised to do throughout his campaign. “We can make great progress,” he said.

Seek ANWR through a bill that sets tougher mileage standards

KNOWLES: Instead of trying to push a “partisan, secret, pork-filled bill that’s now lying dead on the floor of Congress,” an Alaska senator needs to seek ANWR through a bill that also sets tougher mileage standards for cars and requires power plants to use a certain percentage of renewable fuels, he said. “That’s the balance that I believe is going to bring about the development of ANWR and the gas line,” he said.

Let Alaska supply oil and gas

1. contains the necessary incentives to build the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline
2. opens part of ANWR for oil exploration and
3. provides incentives to develop heavy oil in Alaska.

Voluntary partnerships reduce greenhouse gases economically.

Considering the evidence and the risks of both overreaction and underreaction, the Governors recommend that the federal government continue its climate research, including regional climate research, to improve scientific understanding of global climate change. The Governors also recommend taking steps that are cost-effective and offer other social and economic benefits beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In particular, the Governors support voluntary partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while achieving other economic and environmental goals.
• The Governors are committed to working in partnership with the federal government, businesses, environmental groups, and others to develop and implement voluntary programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in conjunction with conserving energy, protecting the environment, and strengthening the economy.
• The Governors urge that those who have successfully achieved reductions of greenhouse emissions receive appropriate credit for their early actions. The Governors strongly encourage these kinds of voluntary efforts.
• The Governors believe that federally required implementation of any treaty provisions, including those that mandate limits or reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, must not occur before the U.S. Senate ratifies an international agreement and Congress passes enabling legislation.
• The Governors support continued federal funding for research and development technology in this area. They also believe it is essential to engage the private sector by fostering technology partnerships between industry and government. Public-private partnerships serve to achieve desired environmental goals, speed the introduction of new technologies to the marketplace, and meet consumer needs and product affordability goals, while avoiding market distortions and job losses.

Kyoto Treaty must include reductions by all countries.

The Governors recommend that the federal government continue to seek the advice of state and local officials and nongovernmental organizations with expertise in economic, trade, jobs, public health, and environmental issues and assess the potential economic and environmental consequences of proposed policies and measures, including a thorough and broadly accepted analysis of costs and benefits. The Governors recommend that the US:
• not sign or ratify any agreement that mandates new commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the US, unless such an agreement mandates new specific scheduled commitments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions for developing countries within the same compliance period;
• aggressively undertake strategies for including emissions-reduction commitments from developing countries;
• not sign or ratify any agreement that would result in serious harm to the US economy;
• support flexible policies and measures in continuing negotiations that provide an opportunity for the US to meet global environmental goals without jeopardizing US jobs, trade, or economic competitiveness;
• insist on flexible implementation timetables in continuing negotiations that permit affected parties adequate time to plan strategies for meeting commitments; and
• ensure that no single sector, state, or nation is disproportionately disadvantaged by the implementation of international policies.

Federal tax incentives for energy, with state decisions.

1. Western Governors find that states must continue to play a pivotal role in electric power decisions. Specifically:
   • The existing authority of states over retail electric power sales and transmissions must be retained.
   • Congress should allow states to create regional mechanisms to decide regional power issues.

1. We need to pursue a national energy policy that will result in a diverse energy portfolio:
   • New energy development: Enable exploration and development of promising domestic oil, gas, coal, geothermal or wind resources.
   • Coal: Implement R&D and tax incentives to promote the development and deployment of new technologies.
   • Renewables: Accelerate the development and deployment of promising renewable energy technologies through the extension and expansion of state and federal production tax credits.
   • Environmental Regulation: Review environmental and natural resource policies to ensure they are as efficient as possible.
   • Permitting Energy Facilities: Streamline state, tribal and federal processes for siting new generation, electric transmission and natural gas pipelines.
   • Energy Infrastructure: Support economic and environmentally sound energy infrastructure investments to transport energy to markets

1. Energy efficiency and conservation: At a minimum:
   • Encourage rate structures that give utilities and customers an incentive to reduce consumption.
   • Encourage long-term stability of government and utility conservation programs.
   • Review and improve the energy efficiency of building codes and appliance efficiency standards that recognize the unique conditions in the West (e.g., dry climates).
   • Support federal, state and tribal tax incentives to accelerate the introduction of new energy efficient technologies.