To:
Congressman Henry Waxman, Co-Chair
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Co-Chair
Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change
Dear Congressman Waxman and Senator Whitehouse,
We are delighted and honored to have been asked to reply to your thoughtful and critically important
request for recommendations as to:
1. What actions or policies could federal agencies adopt, using existing authorities, to reduce
emissions of heat-trapping pollution?
2. What actions or policies could federal agencies adopt, using existing authorities, to make our
nation more resilient to the effects of climate change?
3. What legislation would you recommend Congress enact to strengthen the ability of federal
agencies to prevent and respond to the effects of climate change?.
In framing recommended actions, we are mindful both of President Obama’s emphasis on climate
change in his second Inauguration Speech and the promise of legislative attention to these issues
reflected in the creation of your Bicameral Task Force.
The University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory advance climate
change research, energy innovation, and sustainability science, as well as economics, law and policy
scholarship, as key elements of our educational and research missions. In addition to this response to
your call for suggested federal action, we offer to engage with the Bicameral Task Force as an ongoing