The Bush administration is considering embracing a mandatory system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to reports by major news agencies.
The Washington Times reported Monday that senior White House officials met with Republican lawmakers last week to test their reactions to a possible shift in the administration’s policy, which has been opposed to mandatory emissions caps of any kind–favoring voluntary reductions instead.
The news is significant, as G8 leaders prepare to meet in Paris later this week to continue U.S.-sponsored climate negotiations and Congress prepares to take up a climate-change bill in June. Also significant was a meeting last week of about 40 Senate Republicans to work toward consensus on the issue of climate change.
However, if the administration and Senate Republicans swing in favor of mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, don’t expect a wholesale embrace of the Warner-Lieberman cap-and-trade system that is the front runner climate bill in the Senate and proposes 70% reductions in emissions by 2050.
In fact, reports suggest the White House may already be pulling back from the issue as a result of the negative feedback received by Republicans last week.
However, White House press secretary Dana Perino acknowledged Monday that the administration was working on new climate change proposals."We aren’t necessarily against cap-and-trade proposals," Perino said Monday, but she added, "What we’ve seen so far from Congress is not something that we can support."
The AP reported that among the proposals tested by the administration at the meeting last week was a suggestion to limit emissions caps only to electric power plants, while creating a "safety valve," should the cost prove to be too high.
Perino said the administration’s motivation to address the cap issue is to avoid a "regulatory train wreck" resulting from states and various federal agencies regulating greenhouse gas emissions to varying levels and from different approaches.
Based on these reports, it seems more likely that the Bush administration and Senate Republicans will decide to push a climate bill before Bush leaves office. Doing so could result in a more favorable set of regulations for industry, than if a bill is passed under the next president, as the top three candidates all support strong cap-and-trade legislation.
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