GANA committee discusses re-emergence of climate change talks

“With the health care bill mostly behind us, cap and trade is coming back to the forefront,” said Bill Yanek, executive vice president of the Glass Association of North America, Topeka, Kan, during the Flat Glass Manufacturing Division meeting, March 25, at the Paris Las Vegas Resort. The meeting kicked off GANA’s Glass Week conference that runs through March 30.Nationally, glass manufacturers could possibly see emissions requirements coming through legislation or through regulation. The Environmental Protection Agency has made moves to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. However, the National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, D.C.,issued a legal challenge about the EPA’s ability to regulate, and it could slow the process, Yanek said. Legislatively, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have developed a proposal that would put off the impact on manufacturers for 10 years, said Steve Farrar, director of International Business, Guardian Industries Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich., co-chair of the Climate Change Committee. “Whether there is [legislative] movement or not—and we’re uncertain if there will be movement, perhaps a 50-50 chance—we need to be on top of this,” he said. “Just because it’s not moving now doesn’t mean we can stop working.”In California, manufacturers could see changes in the much nearer future. “California is going forward on their own, full steam ahead,” Yanek said about the state’s climate change Assembly Bill 32 greenhouse gas emissions plan. Manufacturers with California locations can learn more about the emissions plan during an April 19 Webinar that will be shown on the GANA Web site. Climate change is a major issue for the industry and manufacturers should remain vigilant, Farrar said. “Nationally, we are trying to make sure we are not disadvantaged or over burdened to pay for carbon credits, while our international competitors are not.”For more information:

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