On Wednesday, senior Democratic Senators unveiled climate change legislation, marking the beginning of a debate/fight between liberal and conservative interests that is likely to be as heated as the debate over healthcare reform.
The bill, which calls for a 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and an 83% cut by 2050, was supported by the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and the Natural Resources Defense Council. However, other groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth refused to support the bill, stating that it was not strong enough to address climate change and U.S. responsibilities on the international level.
"We commend Senators Boxer and Kerry for their dedication to combating the important problem of climate change but we cannot support a bill that fails to solve the problem. Overall the draft is riddled with loopholes and does not go far enough to protect the planet," Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica said.
Friends of the Earth listed the following areas of concern:
- Emissions Cap: Science demands at least a 40% reduction in emissions, compared to 1990, by 2020. The draft bill has emissions reductions targets of about 20% below 2005 levels–nowhere near what a fair U.S. contribution to a global emissions reductions should be to avert climate catastrophe
- Offset Loopholes: The extensive use of offsets in this draft bill, up to 2 billion tons a year, seriously undermines the integrity of the already weak emissions cap and delays the health, environmental, and economic benefits of shifting to a low-carbon economy.
- Methane Regulations: The House-passed bill would require emissions from landfills, coal mines and natural gas pipelines to be regulated, but under the Kerry-Boxer draft, these sources can voluntarily capture methane in exchange for offset payments.
- Markets Regulations: The bill would creative a massive, new and complex commodities market with almost no specifics on how that market would be regulated.
- Subsidizes Dirty Energy: The bill gives special subsidies to expensive, unsafe and environmentally damaging technologies such as nuclear reactors and carbon capture and sequestration and capture for coal plants, not to mention ambiguous incentives for biofuels.
Not surprisingly, Senate Republicans expressed no support for the bill either.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell labeled the bill an "energy tax."
"The last thing American families need right now is to be hit with a new energy tax every time they flip on a light switch, or fill up their car–but that’s exactly what this bill would do," McConnell said.
For additional coverage of the legislative environment, link to the Reuters piece below.
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