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Written by Arthur Smith
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Wednesday, 17 January 2007 |
A New York Times article by Andy Revkin and Felicity Barringer highlights new bills proposed tackling global warming in the US Senate. It's not clear whether any of these bills have actually been introduced yet, but the overview looks promising so far. The Associated Press reviews three of the global warming bills in detail:
- "Electric Utility Cap-and-Trade Act" - from Senators Dianne Feinstein and Thomas Carper. Empowers the EPA to impose caps on electric utility CO2 emissions, with a trading system similar to that for sulfur dioxide pollutants. Feinstein apparently plans to introduce 4 more bills along these lines to tackle other components of the problem.
- "Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act" - from Senators Bernie Sanders, Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, and others. Establishes mandatory standards for emissions from vehicles and power plants - new plants subject to standards by 2012, all plants by 2030.
- "Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007" - from Senators John McCain, Joe Lieberman, and Barack Obama. This is essentially the McCain-Lieberman bill of previous congresses. A more flexible "cap and trade" system, including incentives and buy-outs for reductions in other countries, and establishing a national database to track emissions.
Revkin and Barringer also mention a more gradual cap-and-trade proposal from Senator Jeff Bingaman, but details seem not to be available on that one yet.
Update - David Roberts has some further interesting commentary on the Senate action and comparative lack of action in the House. And that, all in all, this will be The Year of Climate Change. It may well be. Only registered users can write comments.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 January 2007 )
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