UVa to host climate commission meeting

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s Commission on Climate Change will hold its second meeting today at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.
The 40-member commission is developing a plan to curtail Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions in the state rose by 34 percent from 1990 to 2004 — a rate nearly twice the national average.
The panel members are working on five key steps. They are taking an inventory of the amount of and contributors to Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions. They are evaluating the effect of climate change on Virginia’s residents, environment and economy. They are taking stock of initiatives addressing climate change in other states and by the federal government. They are identifying ways that Virginia can prepare for climate change. And they are identifying ways that Virginia can curb its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2025.
Not everyone supports the commission’s goals. An e-mail alert from the fiscally conservative group Americans for Prosperity requested its supporters attend the meeting and urge the commission to “consider the high and devastating costs of imposing these Draconian regulations on our economy.”
The commission meets from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Miller Center’s forum room. The public address portion of the meeting will begin around 4:15 p.m.