Posts tagged with 'ACES'
Weekly Mulch: Despite Senate Inaction, Clean Energy Economy Thriving
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by Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released an energy and oil spill bill this week that has no carbon cap, no renewable energy standard, and no chance of changing the course of America’s energy future. And yet, despite Senate setbacks, the clean energy economy is growing.
A new report, funded in part by the State Department, says that renewable energy use worldwide is at a “clear tipping point,”as Yes! Magazine’s Brooke Jarvis writes. That growth comes despite inaction in Washington. Around the world, electric companies are drawing power from sources like wind and solar, entrepreneurs are building new renewable energy generators, and governments are pushing for renewable energy use.
Congressional inaction
Over the course of 2010, the Senate’s ambitions for climate legislation have dwindled to almost nothing. A session that began with the Kerry-Boxer bill—a close-enough approximation of the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act—ended with Reid’s energy bill, which drops all efforts to cap carbon. (more…)
Weekly Mulch: Bad News Bill
By Alison Hamm, Media Consortium blogger
Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) met with industry groups Wednesday evening to discuss their much anticipated tripartisan climate legislation. Based on leaks from the meeting, it sounds like the climate bill will be incredibly industry friendly, which may mean that the bill does little to help the environment.
A syncing feeling
According to reports from sources in the meeting room, the bill calls for greenhouse gas curbs across multiple economic sectors, with a 2020 target of reducing emissions by 17 percent below 2005 levels and an 80 percent reduction by 2050. Power plant emissions would be regulated in 2012, other major industrial sources will be phased in during 2016. (more…)
Weekly Mulch: New bills and old money
By Sarah Laskow, Media Consortium blogger
Climate legislation is returning to the Senate’s docket, and leaders on Capitol Hill are hoping that this version, a compromise bill spearheaded by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), can pass without getting caught in the morass of money and politics that has delayed action so far.
A long, long time ago…
Remember, there was a time when Congress was going to pass climate legislation before the international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen. President Barack Obama was going to show up with a bill in hand and lead the world towards a better climate future. After the House passed its climate bill in June 2009, the Senate began discussing climate change, and a first stab by Sen. Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) went nowhere. Now, Kerry has turned to less liberal colleagues to draft an alternative that would appeal to moderates and even Republicans.
Now the Massachusetts senator is promising that climate change isn’t dead. A new bill is coming—more information may be in the offing as early as today, as Kate Sheppard reports at Mother Jones. (more…)
Weekly Mulch: The Pros and Cons of the Climate Bill
by Raquel Brown, TMC MediaWire Blogger
The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), also known as the Waxman-Markey bill, narrowly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives at the end of June. The ACES bill seeks to mitigate climate change via emission reductions, investments in energy technology, creation of clean energy jobs, and rigid standards for energy efficiency. Check out Grist for a valuable breakdown of the act.
ACES is far from perfect and required many concessions to pass. But did lawmakers compromise too much? The climate bill is getting mixed reactions: Proponents feel that ACES holds historical and environmental significance as the first legislation designed to combat global warming, whereas critics think the bill is little more than a “massive energy tax.”
Businesses dislike the bill’s stringent greenhouse gas regulations, but many environmentalists are concerned that the bill is too watered down. As Dara Colwell writes for AlterNet, the carbon offsets proposed in the ACES bill are largely unsuccessful in other countries. The European Union instituted a similar program five years ago, and according to the Wall Street Journal, European emissions actually grew 1 per cent each year under the program. A straight carbon tax, rather than cap-and-trade, would yield more positive results, increasing transparency and helping us taper off coal.
And what do right wing skeptics have to say about all this hoopla? As Grist’s Kate Sheppard reports, Republicans were highly critical of the bill, denouncing its ability to spur any economic growth. Remember Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla), who famously called global warming “the greatest hoax perpetuated on mankind?” Meanwhile, Democrats have praised the bill’s economic potential.
Focusing on the bigger picture, Colin Beavan at Yes! Magazine argues that ACES’ flaws are worth overlooking. As one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, the U.S. needs to set an example by committing to fight climate change. Failing to do so before December’s U.N. conference in Copenhagen would be an unwise political move. Additionally, the ACES bill is the last opportunity to pass any climate or energy legislation before 2010′s midterm elections.
As ACES moves to the Senate, legislators are grappling with the bill’s many imperfections. According to Aaron Wiener of The Washington Independent, Democrats are prepared to strengthen the bill’s provisions as they push the legislation forward, but many Republicans argue that the bill won’t survive because of the current economic crisis.
Even though many felt the final bill leaves something to be desired, ACES does include key equity provisions, thanks to Green For All’s (GFA) campaigning. As GFA Youth Organizer Julia H. Rhee writes for RaceWire:
With over 3.8 million youth, ages 18-24, neither in school or jobs, it’s clear we have to provide better opportunities to engage our young people. Particularly for youth of color who have been locked out of the education process and won’t follow a traditional 4-year college path, we need viable alternatives to the streets. We need to scale up healthy, career-track jobs that will allow our youth to advance and not be left behind.
This provision will mean that as green job contracts come down the pipe, quality standards will ensure they are good jobs, and local hiring practices will make them available to low-income local communities.
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