(CNSNews.com) –  The U.S. Treasury and other finance ministries around the world should play a major role in fixing climate change, outgoing Bush administration Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday at an event sponsored by the environmental group Resources For the Future. The discussion was titled, "How Markets Can Help Address Climate Change and Other Major Environmental Problems."
 
Paulson, who once served as chairman of the Nature Conservancy and co-chair of the environmental group Asia-Pacific Council, has long been involved in fighting global warming.
 
“I will be actually surprised and disappointed if the Office of Treasury isn’t a leader -- probably the leader -- in the government in terms of having more resources and knowledge than any other place,” said Paulson, referring to research on alternative energy and climate change.
 
“We need to play a major role going forward, and I think that other finance ministries around the world will need to play a major role,” he said. “Again, I see it as essential that finance ministries or departments of treasuries have people in place who understand not just the economics but also conservation and the environment.”
 
In August 2008, under Paulson’s watch, the Treasury Department launched the Office of Energy and Environment, which was given the responsibility of developing low carbon technologies in developing economies, as well as allocating funds for the U.S. Tropical Forest Conservation Act.
 
Paulson chose William Pizer, who is a former director of Resources For the Future, to lead the department.
 
Steven Milloy, an author and the publisher of JunkScience.com, a popular Web site critical of global warming alarmism, told CNSNews.com that for Paulson, the “number one issue” is the environment. He said he expects Paulson to take an active role in combating climate change once his post at the Treasury expires.
 
“Keep in mind that Paulson is no different than Al Gore,” said Milloy.  “He is as crazy on the environment as Al Gore. He has a huge fortune and he says he is going to give to environmental charities.  He is just as extreme as Al Gore.”
 
Milloy also accused Paulson of using his position at the Treasury as a bully pulpit to promote his own agenda on global warming.
 
In his speech, Paulson would not say how much of President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus package, which will likely be voted on by lawmakers later this month, should go towards the environment. But Paulson said he thinks energy policy should be “extraordinary important.”
 
Obama’s stimulus package is estimated to cost  between $750 billion and $1.2 trillion.