House Democrats yesterday released a draft version of comprehensive climate and energy legislation.
“The American Clean Energy and Security Act” is co-sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who chairs the panel’s Energy and Environment Subcommittee.
The legislation has four components: a clean energy title that promotes renewable energy and carbon capture and sequestration; an energy efficiency title that promotes energy efficiency; a global warming title that establishes a cap-and-trade program; and a transitioning title that protects consumers from price spikes and promotes green jobs.
The bill creates a renewable energy standard (RES) requiring the nation to meet 25% of its energy need through renewables by 2025.
It also sets a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 20% from 2005 levels by 2020–a slightly deeper cut than proposed by President Obama.
However, the bill does not provide any details about whether or not carbon emissions would be auctioned off or given away under the cap-and-trade system. It also does not address how revenue from the system would be spent.
These issues are expected to be taken up in committee. Waxman said he hopes to pass the measure out of committee by Memorial Day.
Greenpeace praised the emissions targets presented in the bill, as well as the RES. However, the environmental group criticized two billion tons of pollution offsets proposed in the draft. According to the group, if all the offsets in the bill were used, the bill’s emissions reductions could be met without any reduction in fossil fuel emissions for more than 20 years.
In addition, the draft provides "untold billions of dollars in handouts for the false promise of carbon capture and sequestration," Greenpeace said in a release.
In the Senate…
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committe began working on its version of energy and climate change legislation yesterday.
However, an early skirmish on the Senate floor yesterday is telling of the steep road ahead for climate legislation, according to a report on Politico.com.
Not a single Republican joined with Democrats in supporting a budget amendment giving Senate committees the flexibility to design a cap-and-trade system that does not increase “the overall burden on consumers.”
Read the full report at the link below.
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The cap and trade system would result in a 650 billion dollar tax on
energy generation companies that would be passed on to the consumer in terms of higher energy prices. Then the Federal Government would give back to the people 650 billion dollars in subsidies to help them pay for higher energy prices. How dumb is that?? The ultimate aim of the cap and trade system is to tilt the playing field against carbon producing industries – disguised as a “market”. Probably a better solution is to let the market play out – already oil is up 50 percent this year. Oil is heading over $100 a barrel again in the next two years. When oil gets up to $150 a barrel and shortages break out, it will be the “death knell” for SUV’s, large trucks and gas guzzlers in this country.