In the headlines
• Renewed Appetite for Climate Change Legislation in 2010? Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a key member of a bipartisan group of senators supporting climate change legislation, recently said that there is an opportunity for a bi-partisan bill to pass Congress this year
• EPA Endangerment Finding: Opposition in Congress is heating up, with votes expected across the next few weeks on bills to restrict EPA’s actions.
Heating up the Balance Sheet: The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance requiring companies to disclose climate-related risks in their filings. This is a significant development that could change the way corporations approach and respond to their carbon footprint.
• COP 15 Update: Fifty-five of the 193 countries that attended the Copenhagen summit met the 31 January deadline to submit their carbon reduction commitment to the United Nations. However, these commitments are not deemed sufficient to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees C, (3.6 degrees F) – the limit targeted at Copenhagen in December.
•Renewable Fuel Standards: The US issued renewable fuel standards that require that 8.25% of all US fuels (gasoline and diesel) come from a renewable source in 2010.
• New Climate Agency: NOAA will establish a new Climate Service that will consolidate several existing NOAA climate-related programs and already launched new website portal (www.climate.gov) to contain all its climate data and services.
• Federal Government Emissions Cut: The Obama Administration announced that US Federal Agencies will reduce their GHG emissions by 28% below 2008 levels by 2020.
• What Does the Public Really Think? Public support for taking action to counter global warming appears to be strong according to recent poll results, but when asked about its priority relative to other policy matters, it consistently ranks last. What does this portend for climate change legislation in 2010?
Renewed Appetite for Climate Change Legislation in 2010?
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a key member of a bipartisan group of senators supporting climate change legislation, recently said that there is an opportunity for a bi-partisan bill to pass Congress this year. He added, however, that the votes for the current cap-and-trade proposals before Congress are not there and that a bi-partisan bill would have to give greater consideration to nuclear power and offshore oil and gas exploration.
Senator Graham, along with Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and John Kerry (D-MA) sent a letter to president Obama on December 10 in advance of his trip to Copenhagen to outline a framework for climate legislation in hopes of spurring a bi-partisan bill that will generate the 60 votes required to pass the Senate. The framework is notably light on detail and includes support for oil and coal expansion, nuclear power, carbon permits, clean coal and carbon capture sequestration. They target a 17% reduction in GHG below 2005 levels by 2020. A copy of the 4-page letter can be found at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23946357/12-10-09-Kerry-an-Graham-Climate-Framework-1
EPA Endangerment Finding
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an endangerment finding in December 2010 that provides the Agency with legal authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for automobiles, factories, and power plants. The finding addresses six gases including carbon dioxide (CO2), that "threaten the public health and welfare of current and future generations." A copy can be found on the US EPA website
What’s the Significance? Prior to making this determination, EPA did not have the authority to act, leaving Congress solely accountable for addressing GHG emissions. While Congress tends to favor a market-based solution, EPA action would not. The regulations would likely establish limits on individual source emissions and require “best available or practicable technologies, following EPA’s approach with other pollutants it regulates under the Clean Air Act.
Latest Developments: Many in Congress are not pleased with what they view as a possible end-around by the Obama Administration. In the House, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) introduced a bill (Save Our Energy Jobs Act H.R. 4396) to block EPA from independently regulating CO2 gases without explicit authorization from Congress. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is also planning on introducing a similar bill in the Senate in the coming weeks. The Attorneys General of the states of Virginia and Texas have also filed lawsuit challenging EPA’s authority, although most legal experts don’t give these challenges a high chance of success.
Federal Government Emissions Cut
The Obama Administration announced that US Federal Agencies will reduce their GHG emissions by 28% below 2008 levels by 2020. According to the White House press release, "The Federal Government is the largest energy consumer in the U.S. economy...and spent more than $24.5B on electricity and fuels in 2008."
COP 15 Update
A total of 55 of the 193 countries that attended the Copenhagen summit met the 31 January deadline to submit their carbon reduction commitment to the United Nations. However, these commitments are not expected to ensure that the rise in global temperatures does not exceed 2 degrees C, or 3.6 degrees F.
The US and Canada, along with China and all 27 European Union countries met the deadline. The US and Canada eached pledged to reduce GHG emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. China pledged to reduce its emissions growth (not to be confused with actual emission levels) by 45% from 2005 levels by 2020, while the EU countries pledged to reduce their emissions 20% below 1990 levels by 2020 (with a further promise of a 30% reduction contingent upon actions of other nations).
Even so, Janos Pasztor, the top climate adviser to the UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon said: "It is likely, according to a number of analysts, that if we add up all those figures that were being discussed around Copenhagen, if they're all implemented, it will still be quite difficult to reach the two degrees." The 2 degree figure is taken from a baseline in the late 18th century, right before the Industrial Revolution began. The UN through the IPCC reports that the global temperatures are currently approximately .7 degrees C (1.3 degrees F) higher than they were from this baseline.
Renewable Fuel Standards
The US issued renewable fuel standards that require that 8.25% of all US fuels (gasoline and diesel) come from a renewable source in 2010.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the rule on February 3 after the preliminary rule was issued Spring 2009. The Renewable Fuel Standard program was created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) with a long-term goal of “achieving significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from the use of renewable fuels, reductions of imported petroleum and further development and expansion of our nation's renewable fuels sector.” The rule calls for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2020, compared to 12.95B gallons in 2010.
Joshua Kagen writing for Green Tech Media noted two items of interest in the rule. First, he explains that corn-based ethanol was given a major boost essentially by ignoring the indirect-land use effects of corn ethanol when calculating the impact on lifecycle GHG emissions. He suggests the change was due to Congressional pressure from Members in corn-growing states. Second, he notes that the rule reduces the requirements for use of cellulosic ethanol in gasoline blends from 100 million gallons to 6.5 million gallons. The reason provided is that the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol is still very high, primarily due to the enzymes required to breakdown the ingredients. You can read his assessment or EPA’s 4-page summary for more details.
What Does the Public Really Think?
Public support for taking action on global warming appears to be strong according to poll results, but when asked about its priority in comparison with other policy matters, it consistently ranks last.
A January 25 Pew Research poll places global warming at the bottom of the publics’ priorities for 2010, with only 28% saying they feel it’s a priority. “Dealing with Global Warming” has ranked last or next to last as a priority since it was added to the Pew poll in January 2007. However, looking at the results of closely related issues paints a different picture. Forty-nine percent say “Dealing with the US Energy Problem” is a priority while 44% say the “Protecting the Environment is a priority.” And when gas prices were high in 2006-2008, Energy ranked near the top.
When asked whether the government should take action to address climate change independent of other priorities, the answer is a definitive yes. A Washington Post/ABC News poll on Dec. 13 2009 (during the height of the coverage of the leaked emails from climate scientists in the UK) shows that by more than a 2 to 1 ratio people think the Federal government should regulate GHG from sources like power plants, cars, and factories (65% say should to 29% who say should not). The same poll found that 60% of people would favor regulations of GHG even if it raised their monthly expenses by $10, with 55% still in favor with a $25/month increase.
Tracking Legislation
A lot is happening in Washington, DC, Ottawa, state and provincial capitols. You can rely on this site to track the most important bills. We’ve started with the United States Congress and will build up our coverage over time.
Waxman Markey Bill:
Official Title: American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
Summary: This is the House’s blueprint to address climate change. Key provisions include :
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• A cap & trade system that will limit total green house gas (GHG) emissions within the United States [click here understand what Cap & Trade means]
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• A mandate to reduce total GHG emissions by 17% by 2020, 42% by 2030 and 83% by 2050 below 2005 levels
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• Requirement for utilities to generate increasing amounts of their electricity from renewable sources
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• Significant investment in carbon sequestration, which is the storage of carbon dioxide emissions underground
Status: Passed by the House in June 2009 and awaiting action on climate legislation in the Senate before going to conference.
Green Collar Job Impact: (refer to Title IV, Subtitle B: Green Jobs and Worker Transition)
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• Authorizes grants to partnerships that involve educational institutions or members of the public with relevant experience (e.g. labor unions) to develop programs of study that are focused on emerging careers and jobs in fields associated with alternative sources of energy and climate change mitigation or adaption
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• Authorizes a Green Construction Careers demonstration project to promote middle class careers and quality employment practices in the green construction sector
Kerry-Boxer Bill
Official Title: Clean Energy and American Power Act
Summary: This is the first attempt in the Senate to create a climate bill. Key provisions include:
• Mandates reduction of GHG emissions below 2005 emission levels as follows: 3% by 2012, 20% by 2020, 42% by 2030, and 83% by 2050
• Authorizes incentive programs and regulations to increase the efficiency of buildings, water consumption, and transportation
• Authorizes significant R&D investments in alternative energy as well as carbon capture and storage
• Of note, this bill does NOT include a cap and trade emission program, although the expectation is that such a program would be established when the bill is considered by the Senate Finance Committee
Green Collar Job Impact (refer to Title 3, Subtitle A)
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• Authorizes a competitive grant program within the Department of Education to develop programs of study focused on emerging careers and jobs in the fields of clean energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency, climate change mitigation and climate change adaptation
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• Authorizes an information and resources clearinghouse to aid career and technical education and job training programs for the renewable energy sectors
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• Authorizes a Green Construction Careers demonstration project to promote middle class careers and quality employment practices in the green construction sector
Other Bills of Note:
Cap and Rebate Bill: Two senators from opposite sides of the political aisle co-sponsored a bill nicknamed "Cap and Rebate" for its approach to regulating GHG's. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA)and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced the Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal (CLEAR) Act on December 11 and hailed it as a much simpler and more effective approach than the cap and trade approach featured in both the House and Senate bills. Rather than auction permits to the energy producers (e.g. power plant), suppliers (e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil companies) would have to buy the permits and could trade them among themselves. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds from the auction would go directly back to US consumers in the form of a rebate to offset higher energy costs, while the other 25% would be invested in renewable energy and energy efficiency programs and research. The emission reductions fall somewhere in between the major bills being considered in the House and Senate, but begin with a 20% reduction below 2005 levels by 2020 consistent with the Waxman-Markey bill. The bill has not yet been introduced formally and thus there is no objective detailed analysis. However, the text and analysis by Senator Cantwell's staff can be found on the Senator’s web site.
Green Energy Education Act (HR 957): Authorizes higher education curriculum development and graduate training in advanced energy and green building technologies. Focus is on higher education grants in energy and improving curricula in interdisciplinary engineering and architecture programs.
Community College Energy Training Act of 2009 (S1097): Establishes a program to provide for workforce training and education in sustainable energy at community colleges.
Renew Through Green Jobs Acts of 2009 (HR1781): Directs the Secretary of Labor to award grants to institutions of higher education for sustainability workforce training and education in industries and practices, such as: (1) clean energy; (2) green construction, retrofitting, and design; (3) green chemistry; (4) water and energy conservation; (5) recycling and waste reduction; (6) sustainable agricultural and culinary practices; (7) smart grid technology; (8) advanced vehicle technology; and (9) electric power transmission systems.
THE
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS MADE SIMPLE: If
you are not familiar with the legislative process in the United
States, or simply want to walk down memory lane to Saturday morning
cartoons from the 1970s and 1980s, we propose the following 3 minute
summary. You can’t go wrong with this summary. Enjoy!
