Posted on April 24, 2009 by Mark Walker
On March 31, 2009, U.S. House Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey released a discussion draft of the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009”. The bill is intended as an all-in-one clean energy, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction law. The draft bill weighs in at a svelte 648 pages, anorexic in comparison to the recent 1073 page “Stimulus” bill, increasing the likelihood that it will actually be read. Bolstered by the EPA’s 4/17/09 proposed findings that greenhouse gases threaten public health and contribute to the threat of climate change, this bill will now start winding its way through legislative review, possibly eliminating the need for independent EPA action on greenhouse gases. The House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment began hearings on the discussion draft on April 21, 2009. The draft bill and administrative summaries can be reviewed here.
The Waxman/Markey bill calls for U.S. reductions of greenhouse gas emissions to 97% of 2005 levels by 2012, 80% by 2020, 58% by 2030 and 17% by 2050. The bill utilizes the Clean Air Act as the authority to establish the declining limits, but otherwise exempts greenhouse gases from CAA regulation as criteria and hazardous air pollutants, from new source review, and from consideration in determining whether a stationary source requires a Title V permit.
Let the criticism (and bloggers) begin. Concerns have already been voiced about costs of compliance and raising the cost of conventional energy to the middle class. Some groups are critical of the bill because it allows carbon offsets, a perceived area of potential abuse. Some groups believe that the bill is not strict enough, making too many concessions at the outset, increasing the likelihood that it will be diluted through further legislative compromise. And then there is that pesky question of what to do with the revenues (taxes) generated from the anticipated cap and trade program (consumer rebates, deficit reductions, investment in sustainable energy programs, etc.). This is a greenhouse gas reduction bill to watch.
Tags: Air