Editor's Note: In a statement issued today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard cited the need for a thorough assessment of the Kerry-Lieberman draft climate proposal released today. The full text of Jack's comments appears below:

"This broad proposal reflects the complex relationship between the U.S. energy system and greenhouse gas emissions which come from every car, home, factory and farm in America. We are reviewing the released text to assess the proposal's possible impact on jobs, energy production, and consumers of oil and natural gas. However, until full legislative language has been thoroughly analyzed, any assessment would be guess work at best.

We need reliable data and estimates on how the draft legislation would affect energy production, energy prices, consumers' budgets and t... more »

The Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate discussions continue to be a work in progress. Until the proposal advances beyond the concept stage, we won't know enough to support or oppose it.

Because of the interconnected nature of energy to all aspects of our economy, climate and energy policy has an enormous potential impact on Americans and their ability to find jobs and purchase goods.

For that reason, we need to see more details of the plan and an Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis that assesses the plan's impacts on energy production and the economy.

Moving away from the House Waxman-Markey approach was imperative. The House bill would have eliminated millions more jobs than it created and unfairly burdened families, farmers, truckers and other regular users of gasoline, diesel a... more »

In this episode, I interview Alan Gelder of Wood Mackenzie, who recently conducted a study on the potential impact of climate change legislation on refiners.

Use the audio player below to listen to the conversation and follow along with the show notes. I hope you find the podcast informative.

Show Notes:

00:17 Much of the political discussion in Washington these days involves the climate bills being considered in Congress. Multiple studies suggest that the cost of the bills could be enormous, especially for the refining industry. A recent study was conducted on the potential impact of climate change legislation on refiners.

00:54 The independent study is part of Wood Mackenzie's ongoing research analysis of the energy sector and was not commissioned by any part... more »

Thank you to my friend and fellow blogger James for allowing us to feature his commentary here. This was originally posted at his own blog, Observations.

Our government still has not figured out what to do about the dependence on foreign oil that everybody agrees is an unacceptable situation.

The sensible thing to do, of course, is to produce more oil and natural gas from sources within the United States and off the coasts, and the sooner, the better. "Drill here, drill now" is not just a slogan; it's a prescription for energy independence.

The 30-year old ban on offshore drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts expired a year ago, and yet the federal government has sat on its hands, allowing time to pass without moving to reduce the need to buy oil from countries that are unfriendly... more »