Ohio’s Senator Rob Portman joined the chorus of conservatives voices calling for action on climate change. “There are absolutely things we can do to reduce emissions. We should and we can do it in a way that is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-farmer it doesn’t have to be either or. That is one thing that gets lost in lot of the coverage I have seen,” Portman told the Ohio Farm Bureau this week. “People say Republicans are deniers and Democrats want to do something about it. Republicans like me want to do something about it too. And we’ve done things about it. We actually have a reduction in CO2 emissions in this country at a time when other countries are increasing their emissions. We have done it through a lot of different ways through having more alternative fuel vehicles out there including using ethanol and through energy conservation and efficiency.”
Portman has a strong record advocating for efficiency measures. The bill he co-authored with New Hampshire’s Sen. Jeanne Shaheen tackled industrial energy efficiency. Components of their bill were signed into law and they continue to push for those pieces not yet codified. “We can do better in terms of energy efficiency and that is a great way to reduce emissions but also to add more jobs.,” he said. “We should be able to use technology and innovation better and we are starting to do that. I support legislation to give our power companies incentives to be able to capture carbon and sequester it and start a carbon market.”
The Ohio senator also weighed in support of nuclear power. “People who are really serious about climate change ought to look at nuclear power. There are advanced nuclear power technologies out there. It is emissions free.”