Earth Equity News

Climate Bill Drifts Into a Potomac Fog. By Jessica Leber and Christa Marshall, Greenwire, September 17, 2009. "A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hinted that climate legislation might be postponed until 2010, some analysts wondered whether that actually could mean 2011... With congressional midterm elections looming next year, they say the timetable is limited for politicians to act on a major bill before partisan rancor dominates Capitol Hill. That is raising speculation that lawmakers and the Obama administration may go for a 'Plan B' next year that involves passage of a general energy bill without its most complex climate elements. 'The most likely scenario is that we get a more climate-friendly version of the 2005 and 2007 energy bills,' said Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan. 'It would be a half-loaf approach without cap and trade.' And the further Congress delays into election season, the more likely it is that it may leave emissions limits entirely to U.S. EPA, which is already unleashing climate regulations in the absence of legislation... A simpler bill could include mandates for renewable electricity and energy efficiency without the cap-and-trade system contained in legislation passed by the House in June. The House plan would set an overall limit on emissions and require companies to buy carbon allowances if they exceeded their restricted emissions. The votes likely already are there for a watered-down version of the House bill that could pass in 2009, Rabe said. His polling research shows that public support for renewable energy mandates and energy efficiency requirements is much higher than for cap and trade, he said."