Hill Heat

From the Wonk Room.

As Washington, D.C. wilts in the global heat wave gripping the planet, the Democratic leadership in the Senate has abandoned the effort to cap global warming pollution for the foreseeable future, unwilling to test a Republican filibuster. Instead of testing the hypocrisy of climate peacocks, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will instead attempt to pass a limited bill with new energy incentives and oil reduction policies next week. The decision was formally made at a meeting of the Senate Democratic caucus Wednesday. After the meeting, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), whose efforts to craft comprehensive climate legislation had foundered, focused on the challenge of overcoming a filibuster:

But we’ve always known from day one, that in order to pass comprehensive energy/climate legislation, you’ve got to reach 60 votes, and to reach those 60 votes, you’ve got have some Republicans. And as we stand here today, we do not have one Republican. I think that it’s possible to get there.

It is the ninth day of the latest 90-plus heat wave to hit Washington DC, part of the global heat wave caused by greenhouse gas pollution. Former vice president Al Gore responded to the announcement with a cold reminder of the realities the Senate has not confronted:

The need to solve the climate crisis and transition to clean energy has never been more clear. The oil is still washing up on the shores of the Gulf Coast and we’ve just experienced the hottest six months on record. Our troops are fighting and dying in the Middle East and our economy is still struggling to produce jobs. I continue to urge the President to provide leadership on this issue and urge the Senate to make this issue a priority for the remainder of this Congress. Ultimately – and sooner rather than later – these issues simply must be dealt with. Our national security, our economic recovery and the future of the United States of America – and indeed the future of human civilization on this Earth – depends on our country taking leadership. And that, in turn, depends on the United States Senate acting. The truth about the climate crisis—inconvenient as ever—must be faced.

The American Power Act, cosponsored by Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, would cap carbon emissions, support clean energy expansion and improve oversight of oil drilling. But it cuts major provisions for the protection of tropical rainforests that reduce emissions and help keep legislation affordable.

Monday at 10:30am EDT, leading experts on climate forest policies will brief journalists by phone on the American Power Act’s tropical forests policies and the significant environmental and cost implications of these changes.

• Douglas Boucher, Ph.D. – Union of Concerned Scientists and Chairman of the Tropical Forest and Climate Coalition
• Mariann Quinn, Director, Environment, Health, and Safety, -Duke Energy
• Greg Fishbein, Managing Director, Forest Carbon Program – The Nature Conservancy

Please call 888-293-6960 and ask for the Climate Forests Fix call. If asked, the passcode is 6624052.

Tropical deforestation is responsible for more carbon dioxide emissions than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world. But protecting forests is one of the most affordable ways of reducing pollution, cutting the costs of legislation by approximately a third or more. It also levels the playing field for U.S. farmers, ranchers, and timber producers by helping stop illegal and unsustainable agriculture practices in tropical countries.

Previous versions of the legislation have set aside five percent of allowances for rainforest conservation and included offset provisions to allow companies to get credit for investing in tropical forest conservation. Restoring these provisions will help accelerate emissions reductions while saving consumers billions of dollars a year on their energy bills.

For more information, contact Glenn Hurowitz at 202-232-3317 and [email protected] or Ben Becker at 202-292-6974 or [email protected]

17/05/2010 at 10:30AM

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, tomorrow will roll out their comprehensive energy and climate change legislation that will create jobs, strengthen America’s energy independence, safeguard our national security, and restore our global economic leadership for decades to come.

Senior congressional staff will hold a background briefing for reporters Wednesday morning followed by an afternoon press conference with the Senators and a broad coalition of business, environment, faith, and national security supporters.

12/05/2010 at 01:30PM

From the Wonk Room.

Last night, the Wonk Room published a summary of the provisions of the American Power Act, the comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation being introduced today by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). This post delves deeper into the legislation’s specific provisions. The following table compares key elements of Obama’s campaign promises from 2007 and 2008, the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act as passed by the House of Representatives, and the elements of the Kerry-Lieberman draft legislation, as based on leaked summaries.

The Kerry-Lieberman legislation has a 15-year transition period that supports state-level renewable and energy efficiency initiatives (which will create millions of jobs), invests in smart transportation, and rebuilds American manufacturing, much like Waxman-Markey, but with new support for nuclear energy and natural gas that reflects the interests of large blocs of senators.

Important scientific elements in Kerry-Lieberman are the rapid mitigation of super-greenhouse gases and black carbon, as well as natural resource adaptation programs. By the end of 2025 the legislation has shifted to resemble the refund-based auctioned-allowance system promoted by President Obama and advocates of cap-and-dividend.

The primary missing information from the summaries is the disposition of the allowances—how they will be distributed to polluters and how rapidly the auctioned pool grows. Details of the scientific review provisions were also not included.

Download the short summary as a readable PDF.

Download the section-by-section summary as a readable PDF.

Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, tomorrow will roll out their comprehensive energy and climate change legislation that will create jobs, strengthen America’s energy independence, safeguard our national security, and restore our global economic leadership for decades to come.

Senior congressional staff will hold a background briefing for reporters Wednesday morning followed by an afternoon press conference with the Senators and a broad coalition of business, environment, faith, and national security supporters.

12/05/2010 at 11:00AM