Key Senators Offer Plan for Reducing Costs of Climate Policy Without Compromising Emissions Reduction Goals

 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Tony Kreindler, Environmental Defense, 202-572-3378 or 202-210-5791 (cell)

(Washington – July 24, 2007) Environmental Defense today welcomed a new bipartisan proposal from four key Senators to help companies manage the costs of federal climate change policies without compromising environmental effectiveness.

“We don’t have to abandon environmental goals to manage economic costs, and we don’t have to settle for solutions that leave economic opportunities on the table. This plan could offer a way forward for a bill that delivers real results for the climate and real benefits for business,” said Environmental Defense President Fred Krupp.

The legislation unveiled today by Republicans John Warner and Lindsay Graham along with Democrats Mary Landrieu and Blanche Lincoln offers a new alternative to proposals that would simply undo federal greenhouse gas emissions limits if their costs reach an arbitrary level, shutting down not only environmental protections but also investment in low-carbon technologies and new jobs.

Under the new proposal, businesses would have flexibility in managing short-term emissions levels while keeping the U.S. bound to an overall national emissions cap. It would create a new Carbon Market Efficiency Board similar to the Federal Reserve, with a set of tools for reducing costs to companies and consumers. Those include expanding the ability of companies to borrow emissions allowances from future years, and in rare cases, slowing the pace of national emissions cuts – without abandoning the long-term limits.

The new proposal will be offered as an amendment to broader climate legislation now under development in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, where Warner has taken a leadership role in the process. The support of all four Senators will be vital for the passage of climate legislation in this Congress, and the co-sponsorship of Graham and Landrieu is another sign of growing bipartisan support for a bill. Lincoln is a co-sponsor of S. 280, the Lieberman-McCain Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act.