The World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzed the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) that would be reduced through the recently introduced Waxman-Markey Climate Change legislation, “The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.” According to WRI, the 640-plus page legislative proposal could yield a range of CO2 reductions, depending on which scenario is enacted. WRI separated the elements of the proposal into three main scenarios:
- First scenario: Total emission reductions under just the two proposed emissions caps (the cap on hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption and the economy-wide cap).
- Second scenario: Total emission reductions under the caps and all other complementary requirements, including emission performance standards for uncapped sources and required components of the supplemental reduction program through 2025.
- Third scenario: A range of potential additional reductions that could be achieved through the 1.25 offset requirement and supplemental reductions beyond 2025.
WRI found the effects of the scenarios to be the following:
- The pollution caps proposed in the Waxman-Markey Discussion Draft (WM-DD) would reduce total GHG emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 73 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
- When all complementary requirements of the WM-DD are considered in addition to the caps, GHG emissions would be reduced 31 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 76 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
- When additional potential emission reductions are considered, the WM-DD could achieve maximum reductions of up to 38 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and up to 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. The actual amount of reductions will depend on the quantity of offsets used for compliance.
The massive legislation proposes new standards and funds for clean energy, including a renewable energy standard, a low carbon fuel standard for clean transportation, funds for a smart grid, and transmission lines; new energy efficiency rules for buildings, cars, lighting and appliances; global warming reduction targets and timetables, including a CO2 cap; mandatory reporting on carbon emissions, with the goal of getting data on more than 84 percent of carbon emissions in the U.S.; carbon market oversight (to avoid unregulated carbon market derivative trading); C02 emission allowance trading, and a plan for determining how the estimated USD 600 plus billion earned from allowances could be allocated; and off-sets (both domestic and international).
The proposed legislation also focuses on carbon sequestration and capture, new relationships between Federal and state regulators (including harmonization between California’s more stringent motor vehicle emission standards and those of the U.S. as a whole) and new government architecture (a National Climate Change Adaptation Council and other bodies) to manage climate change mitigation. WRI also offers a detailed (8 page) summary on the legislation.
This past week, the Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment heard from 60 plus experts on elements in the draft climate change bill. Steven Chu, U.S. Energy Secretary, Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the E.P.A, who spoke in front of the committee yesterday, said the ambitious energy and climate-change proposal could help create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the New York Times said they stopped short of endorsing it, and continue to review the details. The New York Times sees Democrat- Republican agreement on the distribution of funds from allowances (estimated at USD 600 plus billion) as central to passing the legislation.
Today, Former Vice President Al Gore, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and representatives from major firms, business associations and environmental organizations offer their testimony.
Image credit: WRI
