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Talking Points: Hot Air Tour Live from Cancun

The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 16) will meet in Cancun,

Mexico from November 29 – December 10 2010; and Americans for Prosperity

is taking our Hot Air Tour there to meet them. The COP meetings are a series of conferences aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions; transferring wealth and

technology from developed to developing nations; and raising the cost of 

traditional energy in order to prop up politically popular new sources.

The Hot Air Tour stop on December 2 will remind everyone that cap-and-trade

means: Lost Jobs, Higher Taxes and Less Freedom.

•  At a time when American taxpayers are hurting, the country should not be

spending millions on these conferences.

The country is still recovering from one of the worst economic climates in modern

history. Yet the Obama administration is sending hundreds of delegates and spendingmillions of dollars to promote an agenda that will further harm the country’s

economy. These misplaced priorities show just how out of touch this administration

is with the American people.

•  President Obama should not pledge emission reductions that Congress has notpassed.

Congress must play a role in any decision that affects U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year in Copenhagen, the president told the UN conference that the United States

would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by “17 percent by 2020, and by more than

80 percent by 2050 in line with final legislation.” However, even with massivecongressional majorities the president was not able to force these emission cuts on the

country. The next Congress is even less likely to pass cap-and-trade. Neither the

president nor the U.S. delegation should promise the UN something they know theU.S. legislature does not support.

•  COP 16 is another attempt to centralize decision making in UN bodies and

devalue American constitutional rights

The Cancun meeting comes on the heels of the huge failure in Copenhagen to reach

an agreement on what will replace the Kyoto Accord in 2012 when the plan expires.

Copenhagen was lauded as the largest gathering of world leaders in history and

expectations could not live up to reality as the conference collapsed of its own

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weight. The Cancun conference is even less likely to produce an internationalagreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The world economy is still recovering and

most countries know better than to commit to a regime that will raise energy prices

and stifle economic growth.

•  Carbon caps endanger our economic recovery and threaten to trap us in arecession.

Cap-and-trade and other greenhouse gas reduction regimes have been shown as

failures everywhere they’ve been tried. Whether it’s the Kyoto Accord’s inability to

lower European emissions; or Spain’s failed experiment with massive subsidies for“green jobs;” or the studies of the harmful economic impact of cap-and-trade in the

U.S.; the record shows carbon limits stifle growth and harm the economy. The

country—and the world—are still recovering from massive economic turmoil. This is

not the time to strangle energy production, hike the cost of goods, hamper job growthand ensure perpetual recession.

 Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen-leaders committed to advancing every

individual’s right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and intrusiveness of 

government is the best way to promote individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and 

engages citizens to support restraining state and federal government growth and returning government to its

constitutional limits. AFP is more than 1.6 million activists strong, with activists in all 50 states. AFP has 31 state

chapters and affiliates. More than 80,000 Americans in all 50 states have made a financial contribution to AFP or AFP

Foundation. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org  

 Americans for Prosperity does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

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