Waxman – Markey Moves Forward

May 26th, 2009
by Will Sarni

Progress around Congressional action on climate change is moving so quickly that my comments provided below will quickly out of date. However, I believe it is worth providing an update on the ever-evolving bill and how it could impact your business.

As of May 22, 2009, the bill (The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 — HR 2454) was approved in a House committee after considerable “policymaking” efforts. The bill was passed in a 33-to-25 vote and lays the groundwork for a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade system.

Despite the rhetoric against a cap-and-trade system, this is not the first …

THE RACE IS ON – CLIMATE CHANGE, CONGRESS AND U. S. CLIMATE ACTION PARTNERSHIP

April 1st, 2009
by Will Sarni

Today we were inundated with e-mail alerts and blogs that provide details of the Waxman- Markey plan drafted by the House.

The plan outlines a cap and trade program to regulate greenhouse gases. The draft proposal will use 2005 as a base year and require that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 20 percent by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050. This draft legislation is a bit more aggressive than the timetable proposed by the administration.

In addition the legislation would require utilities to generate 25 percent of their electricity from renewable energy by 2025.
Key provisions, yet …