Bush Announces Climate Change Plan
On April 16, President Bush outlined a global warming strategy that aims to halt U.S. growth in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The proposal would slow emissions so that there would only be a 12 percent increase in emissions over 2005 levels by 2025. This is the first time that he has gone on record in support of specific limits on GHG emissions and their link to global warming.
Bush's initiative is not currently in legislative form, but his announcement comes in advance of Senate Democratic efforts to begin consideration of the Lieberman-Warner climate change bill in the Senate, expected in early June.
The Bush administration has been a staunch opponent of a mandatory "cap-and-trade" approach to reducing GHG. Although it has backed some mandatory programs, it has preferred voluntary measures to broadly address climate change. Prior to the President's speech, however, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino "left the door open" to market-based approaches by saying, "We aren't necessarily against cap-and-trade proposals...What we've seen so far from Congress is not something that we can support."
Response to Bush's proposal from Democratic leaders was mixed. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that President Bush "will further cement his utter failure to lead the nation and the world on this enormously important issue to the economy, national security and our quality of life."
However, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), reacted by saying, "I am glad the President finally wants to engage on the issue of climate change. The best way for him to do that is by coming forward with a concrete legislative proposal." Another key House Democrat, House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-VA), said that "this message [sends] a very positive signal that it's time to engage, to do so on a bipartisan basis and that engagement would include Republicans working with Democrats on the committee and the Administration working with us."
All three leading presidential candidates, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL), support a mandatory cap-and-trade legislation.
Republicans Request Investigation into Carbon Offset Programs
On April 17, Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and John Shimkus (R-IL) sent a letter on to the Chairman of the full Committee, John Dingell (D-MI) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak (D-MI) requesting that they open an investigation into carbon offset programs.
The letter requested that Dingell and Stupak investigate various aspects of the carbon offset programs, with a particular focus on the lack of oversight in offset marketing schemes. The letter follows a report in the Wall Street Journal that the market for the offset programs may not be producing significant gains in greenhouse gas reduction. In the letter they wrote that one of their main concerns is that some of the carbon offsets that are counting as reductions would have happened anyway. They added that "if this is the case, the only additional greening taking place may be in the bank accounts of the people selling the offsets."
In a related development, in the Senate, Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced S. 2423 the Emission Allowance Market Transparency Act of 2007 in an effort to provide federal oversight of a proposed "carbon trading" market. The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Olympia Snowe, would encourage increased price transparency, prohibit market manipulation and also impose penalties to those that do not play by the rules.
Senate Finance Leaders Introduce Tax "Extenders" Package, CREBs Included
On April 17, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced a $55 billion, tax "extenders" bill, which provides one-year extensions for a broad range of tax incentives that have expired or are set to expire soon. Included in the bill of interest to NEPPA is a one-year extension (through 2009) of the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), with $400 million in new authority. It does not include the technical fixes public power is seeking. Also of interest in the bill is a one year extension of the Production Tax Credit for private developers of renewables and of the Investment Tax Credit for private developers of solar energy, among other things.
Although Baucus and Grassley are working to find offsets, the tax "extenders" bill is not yet "paid for" by cuts in other spending areas. Without offsets, the measure will likely hit a roadblock in the House, which is governed by the "pay-as-you-go" rules. Earlier this month, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Ensign (R-NV) were successful in attaching a $6 billion package of the renewable energy tax incentives to a housing measure, but it is not expected to survive a House-Senate conference, as it is not paid for either.
Often, Congress passes an "extenders" bill during the fall, "lame-duck" session, when all other efforts have failed.
DOE Announces Membership of New Electricity Advisory Committee
On April 17, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sam Bodman announced the members of its newly-established Electricity Advisory Committee. The 30 inaugural members will serve one- or two-year terms. They include some of the nation's top public and private sector leaders in electricity policy, planning and operations. The American Public Power Association's (APPA) Sue Kelly, Vice President, Policy Analysis and General Counsel, is among the members.
According to DOE's press release, the Committee-chartered by Secretary Bodman last month-will provide senior-level counsel to DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in carrying out its mission and meeting requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. In addition, the Committee will advise the Office on deployment of smart grid technologies, research and development of energy storage technologies, renewable energy resource system integration, and new transmission infrastructure to ensure the efficient delivery of electricity.
Linda Stuntz, who served as Deputy Secretary of Energy from 1992-1993 and held other senior positions in DOE from 1989-1992, will chair the Committee. The Committee will hold its first meeting on May 20, 2008 in Arlington, VA and will meet at least annually thereafter.