USCAP Coalition, Electric Utilities Outline Cap-and-Trade Visions

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) unveiled a blueprint for climate legislation yesterday that calls for a 42 percent cut in emissions by 2030 from 2005 levels and rich incentives for the first coal plants to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions. This translates to a 0-7% cut from 1990 levels by 2020. USCAP includes corporate giants such as General Electric, Conco, Phillips, Duke Energy, Dupont and General Motors as well as the Environmental Defense Fund, NRDC, Nature Conservancy, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and World Resources Institute. Read the press release.

1Sky , League of Women Voters , Greenpeace , National Wildlife Federation , and Union of Concerned Scientists released reaction statements to the USCAP plan.

The day before the USCAP announcement, Edison Electric Institute, an industry association of US electric utilities, outlined suggestions for federal legislation capping greenhouse gas emissions on Wednesday, calling for 80 percent reductions by 2050 from current levels. The organization also wants the new cap-and-trade program to allocate 40 percent of the initial allowances to the electric power industry.  This is the first time the industry has agreed upon a unified position on emission allowances.  Read the press release.