Today, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)
introduced
the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, the Senate version of the
American Clean Energy and Security Act’s (H.R. 2454) climate provisions.
Sen. Kerry introduced the
bill:
For too long, Washington has let oil companies, lobbyists, and special
interests maximize their profits and minimize our progress. Our
dependence on foreign oil has hurt our economy, helped our enemies,
and put our national security at risk. It’s time to invest in energy
solutions that are made in America, and work for America. It’s time to
take back control.
This bill will get tough on corporate pollution and put American
ingenuity to work to dramatically improve every facet of the way
America generates and uses energy. It will create millions of new,
good-paying jobs, protect our air and water from dangerous pollution,
and secure our children’s future by making America more energy
independent. And it does not raise the federal deficit by one single
dime.
Several environmental and labor organizations have responded.
Alliance for Climate Protection:
Today’s legislation introduction by Senators Barbara Boxer and John
Kerry reflects significant progress in our nation’s efforts to
transition to a clean energy economy that will create millions of new
clean energy jobs. Their work and that of their committees should be
commended. We look forward to the upcoming discussions that will
further inform and forward a bipartisan bill. Right now, we have the
opportunity to fundamentally transform how we generate and use energy
in this country, to put ourselves back in control of our economy and
national security and to assert global leadership in a new 21st
century clean energy economy. By taking action this year to pass
comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation, future generations
will look back and know that their leaders stepped up to tackle a
deteriorating economy and the specter of climate change head on,
ensuring a healthy, prosperous nation.
Audubon Society:
Senators Boxer and Kerry have blended some new and vital ingredients
into the recipe for a truly meaningful and comprehensive energy plan.
The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act would make a huge
difference by requiring dirty power plants to clean up their acts and
by establishing strong short-term emission reduction targets. Big
polluters would have to slash their contributions to global warming,
while the plan would help repower America with clean energy, create
new jobs and cut our dangerous dependence on oil. That’s a recipe for
energy success. The new measure is a big step toward the final
legislation that America needs, Congress can support and the President
will sign. We look forward to working with Senators Boxer and Kerry
and members of the Environment & Public Works Committee to ensure the
passage of a strong bill in the coming weeks.
Blue-Green Alliance:
The Blue Green Alliance commends Senators Boxer and Kerry for
introducing comprehensive climate change and clean energy legislation.
To truly achieve our goals of a cleaner environment and a prosperous
and fair clean energy economy, we must pass comprehensive legislation
that protects workers and ignites our clean energy economy. The
Copenhagen negotiations are just around the corner, and it is critical
that the U.S. Senate move on this legislation to send a strong message
to the world.
Earthjustice:
We commend Senators Kerry and Boxer for their leadership in
confronting one of the biggest challenges of our time. They share our
vision of a clean energy future that addresses the heat-trapping
pollutants responsible for climate change and puts America back in
control of our economy, our security and our children’s future. For
years we’ve relinquished control of our energy sector to other
countries and to big corporate interests. Holding polluters
accountable and investing in clean energy here at home will not only
address the crisis of climate change but create jobs and put money
back into the pockets of Americans. Naysayers ignore both the real
costs of global warming and the economic benefits of a rapid shift to
clean energy. They are intent on derailing and delaying action, but
today’s announcement proves that momentum is building. Americans know
we have everything to gain in confronting this challenge and
implementing solutions.
Greenpeace:
While the language the Senate unveiled today contains some
improvements over the House bill, it fails to commit the US to
meaningful, science-based greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed
to protect us from runaway climate change. This proposal meets neither
the needs of science nor those of the international community, which
is currently negotiating the landmark climate treaty. This proposal
comes as climate science increasingly suggests that global warming is
advancing even more quickly and more broadly than predicted.
A UN report released just last week projects
the planet is on track to warm beyond 2 degrees Celsius, a threshold
climate scientists say would create an unacceptable risk for a global
climate catastrophe. Despite this urgency, the legislation only
proposes to cut emissions by 7 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 while
the Nobel Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
indicates that developed countries must cut emissions at least 25% –
40% under 1990 levels by 2020. The threat of runaway global warming
has prompted countries such as Japan, India, Indonesia and China to
commit to increasingly ambitious emissions reductions in recent weeks.
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), low-lying island nations
whose very existence is threatened by sea level rise, urged world
leaders last week to preserve their countries’ livelihood and survival
by ensuring that global temperatures be kept as far below 1.5 degrees
Celsius as possible. For years there has been scientific consensus on
the perils of global warming. Now there is increasingly international
political consensus on the need for bold, immediate, and coordinated
action by world leaders. Unfortunately, what is still missing is a
plan from the U.S. that matches our historic responsibility to address
the crisis and the scale of the threat we all face. With the deadline
for action at the Copenhagen Climate Summit fast approaching, we urge
President Obama to assume leadership for global warming policy and to
commit to negotiate a fair, ambitious and binding treaty in line with
the science and not the demands of the fossil fuel industry.