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Climate Change Bills of the 110th Congress

See a graph comparing climate change proposals from the World Resources Institute.

America's Climate Security Act of 2007 - S.2191
Introduced 10/16/2007
Sponsors Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), John Warner (R-VA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Robert Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Amy Klobushar (D-MN)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions cap 2012
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 19 percent below 2005 levels
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 63 percent below 2005 levels
What sources are covered? Electric power, industrial, producers/importers of petroleum- or coal-based fuels, producers/importers of non-fuel chemicals
Can farmers participate? Yes. Agricultural offsets are limited to 15 percent of allowances. (What does this mean?)
Other Provisions

  • Establishes the Climate Change Credit Corporation to administer auctioned allowances and distribute proceeds to assistance, training, adaptation, and technology programs as specified by the bill.

  • Establishes the Carbon Market Efficiency Board to monitor the economic impact of the act and implement specified relief measures under certain conditions.

  • The bill includes efficiency standards for residential boilers and buildings.
Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act (CSIA) - S.280
Introduced 1/12/2007
Sponsors Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), John McCain (R-AZ), Barack Obama (D-IL), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Susan Collins (R-ME)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions cap 2012
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 15 percent
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 65 percent
What sources are covered? Electric power, industrial, commercial, transportation petroleum
Can farmers participate? Yes. Agricultural offsets are limited to 30 percent of allowances. (What does this mean?)
Other Provisions

  • Establishes the Climate Change Credit Corporation to reduce costs to consumers resulting from this act.

  • Provides R&D funding for advanced coal, renewable electricity, energy efficiency, advanced technology vehicles, transportation fuels, carbon sequestration and storage, and nuclear reactor technologies.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere) to determine whether emissions targets are adequate.
Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act – S.309
Introduced 1/15/2007
Sponsors Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Performance standards with the option for an emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions cap 2010
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 15 percent
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 83 percent
What sources are covered? Electric generation, motor vehicles, fuel
Can farmers participate? Not specified
Other Provisions

  • Provides funding for R&D on geologic sequestration, among other projects.

  • Includes emissions standards for new vehicles beginning in 2016 and renewable fuels requirement for gasoline beginning in 2016.

  • Includes energy efficiency and renewable portfolio standards (beginning in 2008) and low-carbon electric generation standards (beginning in 2016) for electric utilities.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by the National Academy of Sciences) to determine whether emissions targets are adequate.
The Electric Utility Cap and trade Act – S.317
Introduced 1/17/2007
Sponsors Sens. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Tom Carper (D-DE)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system for electric utilities only
First year of emissions cap 2011
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 8 percent (electric utilities only)
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 41 percent (electric utilities only); Note: This bill is not structured like the others in that it pertains to electric utilities only. Total GHG emissions from all sources could increase by 62 percent by 2050 if other sectors are not phased in under the cap.
What sources are covered? Electric utilities
Can farmers participate? Yes
Other Provisions

  • Establishes the Climate Science Advisory Board to inform the administration and Congress of the state of climate science, and make recommendations to achieve climate stabilization.

  • Provides R&D funding for low- and zero-emitting carbon technologies, clean coal technologies, and energy efficient technologies relevant to the utilities industry.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by Environmental Protection Agency) to determine whether emissions targets are adequate.
Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007 – S.1766
Introduced 7/11/2007
Sponsors Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Spector (R-PA)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions intensity cap 2012
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 0 percent (equal to 2006 levels)
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? -15% by 2030 (the latest date for which targets are defined in the bill)
What sources are covered? Coal facilities; petroleum refineries; natural gas processors; manufacturers and importers of HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and N2O; non-fuel entities, such as aluminum smelters, adipic and nitric acid producers, and cement producers)
Can farmers participate? Yes. Participation is limited to 5 percent of allowances.
Other Provisions

  • Includes a safety valve of $12. (What is this?) Previous analysis shows the existence of the safety valve will preclude the meeting of the target.

  • Establishes the Climate Adaptation Fund to address climate impacts on various sectors of society (e.g., coast, natural resources, fish and wildlife, etc.).

  • Establishes the Energy Assistance Fund to offer assistance to consumers.

  • Establishes the Energy Technology Deployment Fund to support the development and deployment of methane utilization, zero- or low-carbon energy technologies, advanced coal, cellulosic ethanol, and advanced vehicle technologies.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by an interagency group established by the President) to determine the effectiveness of the act and to assess comparable foreign action.
Global Warming Reduction Act – S.485
Introduced 2/1/2007
Sponsors Sens. John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system and performance standards
First year of emissions cap 2010
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 15 percent
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 67 percent
What sources are covered? Unspecified: "Sources and sectors with the greatest global warming pollutant emissions" to be determined by the administrator.
Can farmers participate? Yes
Other Provisions

  • Establishes passenger vehicle standards no less stringent than California's by 2014.

  • Gives consumer tax credits for advanced vehicle technologies (e.g., fuel cells, plug-in hybrids).

  • Mandates 60 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2030; requires the installation of E-85 pumps at certain gas stations. (In 2006, the United States consumed 141.5 billion gallons of gasoline.)

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by the National Academy of Sciences) to determine whether emissions targets are adequate.
Olver-Gilchrest – Climate Stewardship Act - H.R.620
Introduced 1/15/2007
Sponsors Reps. John Olver (D-MA), Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions cap 2012
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 15 percent
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 75 percent
What sources are covered? Electric power, industrial, commercial, transportation petroleum
Can farmers participate? Yes. Participation is limited to 15 percent of allowances.
Other Provisions

  • Creates Climate Change Credit Corporation to administer allowances and distribute proceeds to reduce costs borne by consumers.  Specifies that proceeds must be used for: (1) transition assistance to dislocated workers and communities, (2) technology deployment, including coal gasification combined cycles and carbon sequestration, reductions in emissions using agricultural lands, and (3) adaptation assistance to fish and wildlife habitat.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere) to determine impacts of climate change on ocean ecosystems and coastal communities, including assistance for coastal communities to adapt to climate change.

  • Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) submit a climate change adaptation plan to Congress; and (2) research the impact of climate change on low-income populations worldwide.
Representative Waxman – Safe Climate Act - H.R.1590
Introduced 3/20/2007
Sponsors Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)
Main Provisions
How does it work? Emissions cap and trade system
First year of emissions cap 2010
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2020? 15 percent
How much GHG emissions would the bill cut by 2050? 83 percent
What sources are covered? Unspecified: "Sources and sectors with the largest emissions" to be determined by the administrator
Can farmers participate? Not specified
Other Provisions

  • Establishes passenger vehicle standards no less stringent than California's by 2014.

  • Establishes a national renewable energy standard in 2009; by 2020, 20 percent of electric energy generation must be from renewable sources.

  • Creates a national energy efficiency standard.

  • Requires periodic evaluations (by the National Academy of Sciences) to determine whether emissions targets are adequate.

Farmer participation: Farming and agricultural businesses can help solve global warming through innovative practices such as storing carbon in soils and managing manure. (Good manure practices can cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.) Some bills tap this agricultural potential by giving farmers the option to participate. Such provisions work like this: companies can buy agricultural "offsets" to satisfy a portion of their required emissions reductions. (The bills spell out how much of an industry's emissions cuts can come from offsets.) Some bills include similar provisions for forestry offsets.

Emissions intensity: Intensity-based emissions targets link greenhouse gas emissions to economic growth (usually gross domestic product, or GDP). GHG intensity actually measures energy efficiency, so declining GHG intensity indicates improving efficiency, or less energy consumed per unit of production. However, intensity-based targets cannot guarantee that emissions will go down. In fact, under such proposals, GHG emissions can increase. For example, from 1990 to 2004, even in the absence of climate policy, GHG intensity in the United States fell by nearly 20 percent. At the same time, total GHG emissions increased by 20 percent. The reason this happened is that economic output grew more quickly than emissions, even though both were growing.

Safety valve: Some parties concerned with the cost of climate policy believe the way to manage costs is to establish a safety valve, also called an "escape hatch" or "price cap." Under such policies, when the price of carbon reaches a pre-determined dollar value, emitters no longer have to rely on the market’s supply of allowances. Instead, the federal government simply sells additional allowances at the capped price – potentially in an unlimited quantity. This kind of escape hatch stifles innovation and can effectively allow more GHG into the atmosphere.

 

Posted: 30-Jan-2007; Updated: 30-Jan-2007

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