Kerry, Lugar, Ban Ki-moon Discuss Climate Change
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and lead author of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will hold a joint press conference following a meeting on global climate change. They will discuss the steps leading up to December’s international negotiations in Copenhagen, Denmark.
CONTACT: Jodi Seth/Whitney Smith, 202-224-4159
EPA Investigating Legality of Coal River Mountain Destruction
EPA is closely examining the company’s compliance with all legal requirements.
As the EPA conducts its legal investigation, the blasting continues.
Designing a Cap-and-Trade System for the United States
Attention to U.S. climate legislation is increasing on Capitol Hill. In June of this year, the House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act introduced by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and the Senate is considering a similar proposal by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). With international climate negotiations scheduled in Copenhagen for December, many view U.S. action on this issue as critical to a successful outcome. As a result, the central debate is no longer about the need for action, but about the form our actions will take.
On November 4, the Brookings Institution will host a discussion on a new series of papers on U.S. climate policy design. Each paper tackles a different design topic, but they all share a common set of goals: to acknowledge the complexity inherent in climate policy; to explain the fundamental challenges involved in addressing a particular set of design features; and to suggest a credible path forward, calling attention to tradeoffs where they exist. Panelists will focus on such issues as emissions reduction targets, cost containment measures, oversight of the carbon derivatives market, the allocation of emissions allowances and provisions to mitigate the impacts on trade-exposed industries.
After the panel, participants will take audience questions.
3:30 pm–3:45 am
Welcoming Remarks and Introduction
Charles Ebinger, Senior Fellow and Director, Energy Security Initiative, The Brookings Institution
3:45 pm–5:00 pm
Panelists
- Bryan Mignone, Fellow (on leave), The Brookings Institution
- Adele C. Morris, Fellow and Policy Director, Climate and Energy Economics Project, The Brookings Institution
- Carolyn Fischer, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
- Richard Morgenstern, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future
- Craig Pirrong, Professor of Finance and Energy Markets Director for the Global Energy Management Institute, Bauer College of Business, University of Houston
To RSVP for this event, please call the Office of Communications at 202.797.6105 or click here.
The Brookings Institution
Falk Auditorium
1775 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Improving Energy Efficiency with Information and Communications Technology
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a lunch briefing about the role of information and communications technology (ICT) in improving energy efficiency across all major sectors of the economy. As the Congress seeks solutions to the country’s urgent economic and climate crises, energy efficiency has emerged as a prominent win-win solution. According to the 2008 report Smart 2020, the use of ICT hardware, software, and broadband technologies could reduce global energy use enough to save over $900 billion in costs and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2020. Within the United States, these strategies could save $140-240 billion in costs and reduce emissions by up to 22 percent by 2020. This briefing will explain ICT technologies, outline their impacts on our nation’s energy, climate, and economic objectives, and provide federal policy recommendations for maximizing their deployment and efficacy. Speakers for this event include:
- Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA)
- Stephen Harper, Global Director, Environment and Energy, Intel Corporation; Co-Chair, Digital Energy Solutions Campaign (DESC)
- Rilck Noel, Vice President and Global Managing Director, Verizon Business
- Clay Nesler, Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc.
- David Rodgers, Director for Strategic Planning and Analysis, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
Energy-saving ICT solutions include the smart grid, smart manufacturing, dynamic building energy management, optimized data centers, smart transportation and telework. The ICT industry is responsible for approximately 2 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions, but has the potential to significantly reduce the other 98 percent of emissions. Both the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454) and the pending American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 (S. 1462) contain numerous provisions that support the role of ICT solutions in advancing energy efficiency.
Clean Energy Economy Forum
On Wednesday, October 7, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke will be joined by Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner and other top Administration officials in hosting a Clean Energy Economy Forum at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building with business leaders from around the country. The Administration officials will reiterate the need for a comprehensive energy plan that puts America back in control of its energy future and breaks a dependence on oil that threatens our economy, our environment, and our national security. They will also have the opportunity to answer questions from and get the perspective of business leaders who have first-hand experience creating jobs while contributing to American energy independence.
Byron Dorgan Keynote at The Energy Daily’s Transmission Siting Policy Summit
U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) will discuss energy transmission issues at the National Press Club on Wednesday, September 30, at 12:00 p.m. Dorgan is the luncheon keynote speaker at The Energy Daily’s Transmission Siting Policy Summit. A question and answer period will follow his remarks.
Dorgan is a senior member of the Senate Energy Committee and Chairman of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee. Dorgan helped craft the Energy Committee legislation that includes investments in energy transmission, and expanded production of traditional and renewable sources of energy.
The event is open to the media. Media wishing to attend should RSVP to Teri Fisher, Senior Event & Marketing Manager for The Energy Daily. Phone: 610-696-2484, Cell: 240-793-8344, Email: [email protected]. For more information on the event, go to www.theenergydaily.com/transmission_siting.
Senate Watch, China: Bayh, Bond, Boxer, Graham, Kaufman, Kerry, Lieberman, McCain
At the United Nations Climate Summit on Tuesday, president Hu Jintao announced China would make “notable” reductions in carbon intensity while generating 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. E&E News asked senators for their responses.
Evan Bayh (D-IN)Kit Bond (R-MO)Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) said he had not yet seen the details. “But that’s a step in the right direction,” he said. “Clearly, the major economies are going to need to do this in concert. And it’ll be difficult for us to act unless the Chinese and the Indians are willing to make commitments that will actually solve this problem. So it’s a good sign. I’ll be interested to know the magnitude of it and whether it suggests further progress or whether it’s just symbolic.”
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)“I want to see what the details are. It’s a target. Is it enforceable? . . . These are ministers, vice ministers and the commerce and environmental protection agency. They said they’re not going to do anything that’s going to stifle the growth of the economy—that they need to put all the people back to work.”
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)“The more that other countries pledge to cut their carbon and to protect their own people from pollution, it helps us greatly.”
Ted Kaufman (D-DE)“That’s encouraging. That will help us make decisions on our emission problems.”
Joe Lieberman (I-CT)Sen. Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), a member of Kerry’s Foreign Relations Committee, said China’s decision was a clear signal to U.S. businesses. “The difference here is, they’ve figured out it’s in their economic interest to be involved in this,” Kaufman said. “This is one pledge that they’re going to deliver on.”
John Kerry (D-MA)The Hill Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who is working with McCain and other centrist senators to find broad support for a climate change bill, said that Hu’s commitment to targets was “a very significant and encouraging step.” “No question there’s a certain amount of people here who will not take on the responsibility that we have to take on to do things to deal with climate change unless China also does,” said Lieberman, whose bipartisan group is looking at ways to increase U.S. nuclear power.
John McCain (R-AZ)“I think anything China does, if it’s constructive and fixed and measurable, and ascertainable, it’ll be very helpful, absolutely.”
“We’ll see the details. They’ve made similar commitments in the past but haven’t kept them.”
White House Green Jobs Advisor Van Jones Resigns 1
Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the Council on Environmental Quality resigned Saturday night. Below is the text of his resignation letter, sent to Chair Nancy Sutley:
I am resigning my post at the Council on Environmental Quality, effective today.On the eve of historic fights for health care and clean energy, opponents of reform have mounted a vicious smear campaign against me. They are using lies and distortions to distract and divide.
I have been inundated with calls – from across the political spectrum – urging me to “stay and fight.”
But I came here to fight for others, not for myself. I cannot in good conscience ask my colleagues to expend precious time and energy defending or explaining my past. We need all hands on deck, fighting for the future.
It has been a great honor to serve my country and my President in this capacity. I thank everyone who has offered support and encouragement.
I am proud to have been able to make a contribution to the clean energy future. I will continue to do so, in the months and years ahead.
Climate Change Policy and Transportation
Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association.
Keynote Speakers:- Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, (D-Md.)
- Sen. Thomas Carper, (D-Del.)
- Kevin Desmond, King County Metro Transit Division,Dept. of Transportation, Seattle
- Deron Lovaas, Natural Resources Defense Council
- Caitlin Rayman, Maryland Department of Transportation
- Daniel J. Weiss, Center for American Progress
Climate change is one of the most significant issues facing transportation today. Greenhouse gas emissions from transportation sources account for one-third of the emissions in the United States, and transportation accounts for 70 percent of U.S. oil consumption. With Congress debating the legislation this year, this event will take a 360-degree look at climate change proposals in the House and Senate and examine the impact they may have on our transportation system.
The Columbus Club at Union Station
50 Massachusetts Avenue
Washington, DC 20002
8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – Breakfast and Conversation
8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. – Program
Senate Watch: Barrasso, Bingaman, Boxer, Brown, Carper, Dorgan, Durbin, Johanns, Kerry, McCain, McCaskill, Merkley, Nelson, Reid, Roberts, Voinovich
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)E&E News “Last year, the committee produced a bill, got to the floor, never got anywhere,” said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), a member of the EPW Committee. “I’m expecting the same thing this year.”
Barbara Boxer (D-CA)E&E News Earlier this year, Bingaman said he would rather see the Senate tackle energy on its own and then come back to climate. Bingaman last week was not as specific, saying that that “there are a lot of complex questions that obviously are raised by cap-and-trade proposals.” “We’re still in a learning process in most committees,” he added. . . “I assume [Reid]’s waiting to see what the various committees come up with before he makes any judgment,” Bingaman said. “He’s got a difficult job packaging it all up and figuring what the procedure ought to be that gets us to a positive conclusion.”
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)E&E News “To me, the more committees that are involved, the happier I am, because you get more and more colleagues that get to understand it, that get to be part of it,” Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) told reporters last week. “The more colleagues that play a role, the better.” . . . “I am going to have to walk away from some things I believe should be in the bill,” she said.
Tom Carper (D-DE)Roll Call Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has been pressing to make sure the measure won’t create an incentive for manufacturing companies to move jobs overseas to China or India. Brown said he hasn’t gotten much traction in his push for trade protections, but he predicted that top negotiators could not afford to ignore him. “They don’t likely get a bill if they don’t deal with manufacturing,” he said.
Byron Dorgan (D-ND)E&E News Yet other Democrats on the committee, including Baucus and Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.), will push Boxer toward the middle. “My hope is the legislation when it leaves our committee will be centrist,” Carper said.
E&E News Moments after hosting a DPC luncheon with three corporate executives who support cap-and-trade legislation last week, Dorgan took to the floor for about 10 minutes to question efforts in the Senate to move on climate via the House-passed bill. “I know a lot of work has gone into that legislation, but my preference would be that we start to explore other directions,” Dorgan said, citing concerns about speculative trading in the carbon markets.
Roll Call “I am for a low-carbon future,” Dorgan said. “But, in my judgment, those that would bring to the floor of the Senate a replication of what has been done in the House, with over 400 pages describing the cap-and-trade piece, will find very little favor from me, and I expect from some others as well. There are better, other and more direct ways to do this to protect our planet.”
Mike Johanns (R-NE)E&E News There is no guarantee that the committee work will actually lead to the 60 votes needed to defeat an expected Republican filibuster. For instance, things have not gone as smoothly as Democrats hoped on health care, another of President Obama’s top agenda items. “I hope it’ll make them more open to a solution,” said Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “It hasn’t worked that way on health care. Not yet.”
John Kerry (D-MA)McCook Gazette Sen. Mike Johanns spoke on the Senate floor today regarding the impact cap-and-trade legislation would have on American agriculture. In advance of a hearing to be held on Wednesday in the Senate Agriculture Committee, Johanns outlined how agriculture will be hammered with increased production costs as a result of cap-and-trade. He reiterated that state- and commodity-specific analyses of cap-and-trade are essential for a successful evaluation of the true costs and Administration-promised benefits.
John McCain (R-AZ)E&E News “I’m finding there’s a desire by the people we’re talking to to want to find a solution,” Kerry told reporters last week, citing meetings he has held with Brown, Lincoln, Pryor and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)Roll Call Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who promised to enact global warming legislation during his 2008 presidential campaign, said none of the principal Democratic negotiators on climate change has reached out to him. He noted he is working, as he did last year, with Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) on a climate change bill. “I have not lost my zeal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “But I don’t think [Democratic leaders] have any Republicans.”
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)Roll Call “Right now we’re focused on health care, and no one wants to think about the next big hard thing until we finish this big hard thing,” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said. She joked that the success of a climate bill could “depend on if we’re still speaking to each other after health care.”
Ben Nelson (D-NE)E&E News “There is a tremendous amount of sequestering potential, but we have to have it work,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “It has to have a high level of integrity, if there is too much of a loophole it will be irrelevant and ineffective.”
Harry Reid (D-NV)Roll Call Still, Democrats said the bare majority that House leaders eked out for their bill last month has many worried about the ability of Senate Democrats to cobble together the 60 votes needed to beat back a filibuster. “If they had a close vote in the House, it makes it more difficult in the Senate to get us to 60 votes,” said Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), whose vote Democratic leaders will have to court.
Pat Roberts (R-KS)E&E News Back across the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will be in position by late September to work through all of the different climate bills that clear the committees. At that point, he plans to open up his door to lawmakers who still have concerns and demands, following a pattern many remember in 1990 when then Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) helped construct the last major set of Clean Air Act amendments. “That’s what my responsibility is, so that’s what I have to do.” Reid told E&E last week. . . Asked about the path to 60 votes, Reid acknowledged he will have plenty of work to do at every stage of the process. “I’ve got six chairmen to deal with for beginners,” he said.
George Voinovich (R-OH)E&E News Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), a member of the Agriculture Committee, urged Harkin and ranking member Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) to play an even greater role in slowing down the climate bill compared with the House, where Peterson raised objections but ultimately went along for the ride. “I hope that both he [Harkin] and Saxby take the climate change bill by the horns and corral it,” Roberts said.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)E&E News “If you just go through the members of the committee, and you figure it out, all of them are going to have some major problems,” said Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio). “So they’re going to have to try and satisfy them. And in the process of trying to satisfy them, they’re going to lose support from the environmental groups that want us to throw the gauntlet down and take a leadership role.”
E&E News On the surface, Boxer’s EPW Committee would appear to be a cake walk for moving a climate bill. “We have a pretty distinct majority, so if we can’t, shame on us,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), referring to his party’s 12-7 edge in the committee. On her left, Boxer is hearing demands from Whitehouse and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) to tighten up the emission limits beyond the House-passed bill’s 17 percent target for 2020. “Anything we can’t do goes off the table,” Whitehouse said last week. “The move on the Senate floor will be rightward. And therefore, we’ve got to do our job to keep as many possibilities open for the floor as possible.”