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 to be detailed, include the allocation of emission permits to regulated industries – either through sale or a percentage given to the firms.
So, the race between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Congress is on. We can expect increased progress in moving forward with U.S. regulations as we move closer to upcoming COP15 negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009.
It is very important to note that the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP – www.us-cap.org) “hails” the draft as a “strong start.” USCAP, a coalition of U.S. companies (such as Alcoa, GE, BP America, PepsiCo) and NGOs (such as The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund), has long recognized the need for clear and consistent public policy on climate change as a way to promote private investment in low carbon technologies to drive innovation, create jobs and provide a foundation for economic recovery.
This is encouraging as it focuses on the business opportunities (read top line growth) in moving to a global low carbon economy. The participants in USCAP get it.
Hi Will,
Great post. It’s great to get this kind of information parsed down into sizeable chunks. And I’m excited to see progress on this issue from the Obama administration. I hope this momentum keeps up and I’d like to see them be mindful to include a clause to REVISIT this piece of legislation once it becomes defunct. I think this is missing from most legislation, and even in interpersonal relationships. We forget that we need to check in and make sure our systems are STILL working.
Comment by @SLM_Krys — April 20, 2009 @ 1:11 pm