David Stevenson, director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Policy at the Glasgow-based Caesar Rodney Institute, claims legislation supported by Delaware U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and Wilmington-based Chemours will be costly to consumers and provide few environmental benefits.
“Excursions away from free-market principles get really expensive for consumers. An energy bill passed out of the US Senate Energy & Public Works Committee Sept. 10 is a case in point. It forbids the sale of inexpensive existing refrigerants and forces the use of a replacement costing up to fifteen times more.
Stevenson said the legislation will likely cost consumers about $13 billion a year just in higher refrigerant cost. He goes on to say that the higher costs will go directly to Chemours and Honeywell.
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and a business coalition pushed for the legislation over the objections of the Trump Administration and some groups, like the Caesar Rodney Institute
The older refrigerants are blamed for damaging the ozone layer and contributing to globa warming.
Stevenson does not agree
“The claimed economic, and climate benefits of the AIM Act simply don’t exist. The shameful motives behind the Act are very real. ” Click here for Stevenson’s full response.
Stevenson served on President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency transition team.
He has opposed an offshore wind project off the Delaware and Maryland costs, citing possible damage to tourism.
