Republicans to shut down House select committee on climate and energy

The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, which has been chaired by Representative Edward Markey of Malden, is being abolished by incoming Republican leadership.

“I am disappointed that the Republican leadership is not prioritizing energy independence and climate change as important issues to tackle, but that will not stop my efforts to cut carbon pollution and create American clean energy jobs,” said Markey in a statement to the Globe.

Since taking control of the House in the midterm elections on Nov. 2, Republicans have vowed to curb government spending and reduce taxes. Some Republicans contend the committee was tinged by politics and served solely as a launching point for such Democratic proposals as the cap-and-trade program, what they dubbed a national energy tax.

“We have pledged to save taxpayers’ money by reducing waste and duplication in Congress,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for incoming House speaker Representative John Boehner, according to Bloomberg News.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi created the committee as one of her first acts in office in 2007.

Read Markey’s statement at today’s final hearing here.