20-November-2014

The possibility of a climate deal between the U.S. and China has some in the oil and gas sector worried that it could spur new regulations on vehicle-efficiency standards, refrigerant pollutants and methane emissions.

FaegreBD Consulting energy and environment principal and former chief of staff for Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe, Andrew Wheeler, said to ClimateWire that the announcement is a "sweetheart deal" for China. He speculates that Inhofe, who is poised to once again chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will open hearings to examine how the agreement would affect the U.S. and China and whether it could send more jobs overseas.

Wheeler explained, "It's kind of unilateral disarmament with China. They want to make sure they have competitive advantage on the price of electricity for manufacturing goods. So they're trying to enter into these negotiations with Western countries to make sure that our energy prices stay higher than theirs."

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