Addressing climate change has become a dicey issue, and the new "American Power Act" introduced by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) poses some thorny questions. In a statement released yesterday, United Steelworkers President Leo W. Gerard summarized the possible contradictions in such legislation by pointing out that any climate bill "must ensure that emissions are actually reduced and not simply off-shored along with millions of American jobs":

“A well-constructed approach should limit the amount of carbon ‘leakage’ – the incentive for production of goods and jobs to simply move to countries that fail to address global climate change.  This leakage of emissions and jobs has the potential to undermine both the economic and environmental goals of energy and climate legislation, and it is critical that any climate bill include a comprehensive and fully-funded package of policies to prevent it."

The Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) published a report last year that documented China’s ineffective enforcement of weak pollution-control standards in its steel industry, along with an overall failure to use adequate pollution-prevention measures. Tackling carbon emissions is a complicated issue, and one that must recognize China's massive CO2 output.  ManufactureThis will keep our readers posted as the issue moves along in Washington.