U.S. Senate Wrestles with Comprehensive Global Warming Legislation

You may recall that the League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club and several other groups have applauded the Sanders–Boxer Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (introduced by Sens. Bernie Sanders I-VT & Barbara Boxer D-CA), which has been backed by a growing list of senators. 

To date, Senator Max Baucus and Senator Jon Tester have not co-sponsored this legislation.  But there’s good reason to support it.  The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act requires an 80 percent reduction in global warming emissions by 2050, establishes a renewable electricity standard, reduces pollution from cars and trucks and improves energy efficiency. The bill also offers a “cap and trade” program that provides flexibility for companies meeting global warming pollution reduction goals.

America’s Climate Security Act (introduced by Sens. John Warner R-VA, Joseph Lieberman ID-CT) was also introduced this fall and received its first subcommittee mark-up. While this bill has gained the most traction in the Senate and will be marked-up by the full Environment and Public Works committee on Dec. 5th, several conservation organizations believe that the bill needs strengthening. 

The heart of the Lieberman-Warner proposal is a cap-and-trade system, which would guarantee pollution cuts. But the bill calls for a 70 percent reduction in global warming pollution by mid-century, compared to 80 percent in the Sanders-Boxer legislation.

The original proposal also included many giveaways of “emissions allowances” to polluters, enabling companies to rely heavily on offsets, rather than making significant pollution cuts on their own.  This provision is particularly troubling to many conservation groups.  However, the bill’s sponsors are willing to change the bill to sell pollution permits at auction on the market, which reverses the original plan to give away credits to polluters. 

For more Information:

League of Conservation Voters:  www.lcv.org

Montana Environmental Information Center: www.meic.org

Montana Public Interest Research Group: www.montpirg.org

Northern Plains Resource Council:  www.northernplains.org

Western Organizations of Resource Councils: www.worc.org

Sierra Club:      www.sierraclub.org

Natural Resources Defense Council:  www.nrdc.org

National Environmental Trust:   www.net.org

National Center for Appropriate Technology: www.ncat.org

Natural Resources Defense Council:   www.nrdc.org