WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. congressional leaders are pushing to subsidize coal as an oil alternative while drafting legislation to reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers, prodded by intense coal-industry lobbying, propose taxpayers guarantee billions of dollars in construction loans for coal-to-liquid production plants, assure minimum prices for the new fuel and certify big government will purchase the fuel for 25 years, The New York Times reported.
Coal supporters argue synthetic fuels from coal reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil and are potentially better for the environment than ethanol, the newspaper said.
But environmental groups say coal-based diesel fuels would do little to slow global warming and possibly produce almost twice as much of the greenhouse gases as petroleum.
The moves to subsidize coal fuels comes at the same time Democrats are drafting global-warming bills to restrict coal-fired electric power plants, the Times said.
The two actions reflect a little-discussed tension between slowing global warming and reducing dependence on foreign oil, the newspaper said.
Many analysts say the nation's huge coal reserves could, indeed, be a substitute for foreign oil.
