“A large cap-and-trade bill isn’t going to go ahead at this time,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday. But energy efficiency measures to encourage the growth of green jobs may be included in a new economic stimulus bill, according to a Bloomberg report.
The election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate from Massachusetts seems to have put the final nail in the coffin of climate change legislation–at least for this year.
However, it is important to note that not all environmentalists supported cap-and-trade, and many felt that the legislation being consideredin Congress would have done more harm than good.
Democratic Congressional leaders are likely to put together a package of incentives to boost cleantech manufacturing and the so-called cash-for-caulkers initiative to create energy efficiency jobs in home efficiency retrofits. These could be added to the Senate version of a jobs bill passed by the House before the holidays.
Beyond that, Congress may choose to take up a straight energy bill, if they ever finish with health care legislation. The Senate Energy Committee last year approved a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) that would require utilities to provide up to 15% renewable power.
Read the full Bloomberg report at the link below.
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