The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee started a 3-day Senate hearing on the Climate Bill today. They hope to get a vote in November.
There’s strong doubt the bill can be passed this year, but they hope to at least get the bill out of committee before the world climate change meeting in Copenhagen in early December.
Republicans show no signs of backing down from their position that the bill will significantly raise energy prices, push manufacturers to re-locate abroad and eliminate jobs.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who chairs the committee, opened the hearing saying the bill is "our best insurance against a dangerous future."
She referred Republicans to EPA’s calculation that will only cost cost the average American family about $100 a year, or about 30 cents a day.
Steven Chu, Energy Secretary, spoke about the fact that the US is falling behind on green technologies compared to China, Europe and others.
He noted that China is spending about $9 billion a month on clean energy and is investing $44 billion by 2012 and $88 billion by 2020 in ultra high voltage transmission lines to bring electricity from large wind and solar farms to the cities.
In the mid 1990s, the US made 40% of the world’s solar cells, but today we produce just 7%, he said.
The bill currently under consideration in the Senate committee gives pollution credits away for free to many industries. It’s very similar to the bill passed by the House of Representatives in June.
Here’s where most of the free permits would go to help companies make the transition and to protect citizens from price increases. They would largely be phased out by 2030.
– 30% to local electric utilities
– 9% to local natural gas distribution companies
– 5% to coal companies
– 4% to energy-intensive steel, cement, paper, glass and other manufacturers in 2012 and 2013, rising to 15% in 2014 and 2015.
Republicans have made it clear they won’t support a Climate Bill without an emphasis on a nuclear renaissance and offshore drilling.
Read the article in AlterNet, Is the Climate Bill Becoming an Excuse to Promote Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power?
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