February 17, 2009

Capitol Hotline (Feb. 17)

Stimulus Passes, Obama Visits Canada, EPA Coal Plant Petition, Clinton in Asia, Udal 25% RE by 2020, Oregon & Maryland Governors Push GHG Limits, Airlines Want Emissions Regulation

In this issue

Hot Topic of the Week

Stimulus Bill Passes; President Obama to Sign into Law Today

Inside the Beltway

Obama Visits Canada, Under Pressure to Condemn Tar Sands
EPA Grants Petition to Reconsider Bush Memo On Coal Plant Emissions
Clinton, Stern to Emphasize Climate During Asia Trip This Week
Sen. Udall Calls for 25% Renewable Energy by 2020
Congressional Dems Differ on Combining RES and Cap-and-Trade
House GOP Requests Judicial Review of Potential Cap-and-Trade Legislation
Major Shifts in Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Assignments

Outside the Beltway

UN Ban Ki-moon Hopes Obama to Star at Mini-Summit
Oregon & Maryland Governors Push for Ambitious GHG Limits
Major Airlines Want Aviation Emissions Regulation

Capitol Hill Events
Other Headlines

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Hot Topic of the Week

Stimulus Bill Passes; President Obama to Sign into Law Today

President Obama will sign the economic recovery bill into law today at Noon Mountain Time.

The House and Senate came to a decision in conference committee last Wednesday with the final economic recovery package passing on Friday, 246-183 in the House and 60-38 in the Senate. The $787 billion package has a large expansion of federal funding for energy conservation and renewable energy measures, though the final legislation is smaller in some of these areas compared to earlier versions considered by either one chamber or the other.

It includes about $43 billion for direct energy and efficiency programs, with energy-related tax provisions that total more than $20 billion. Stripped from the bill entirely was a controversial $50 billion in additional loan guarantees that could have gone towards nuclear power and coal projects, the final package does included a compromise of $3.4 billion for carbon capture and storage technology. Many environmental organizations view the legislation as a missed opportunity on the clean transportation and mass transit front. While there is $8 billion included for high-speed rail, the bulk of transportation funds favor road construction over clean transportation projects. Overall, environmental groups praised the package as a great step towards increased efficiency and clean energy for the country. Read more at E&E (sub'd req.)

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Inside the Beltway

Obama Visits Canada, Under Pressure to Condemn Tar Sands

Obama will visit Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Canada this Wednesday, his first head-of-state meeting as president. USCAN and CAN Canada will be releasing a letter tomorrow urging Obama to not accept an agreement that would exclude tar sand oil from any greenhouse gas reduction agreement. To date, Obama has not announced a policy on tar sands oil from Canada. Tar sands oil extraction produces 20% more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil. The U.S. imported 780,000 barrels a day in 2008. Read more in Bloomberg

EPA Grants Petition to Reconsider Bush Memo On Coal Plant Emissions

This morning EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson granted a petition from the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense Fund to reconsider a midnight memo by the former EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson which sought to prohibit regulation of carbon emissions from coal plants. In a letter to the petitioners, Jackson said the EPA would seek public comments on the decision soon. Today's decision is consistent with an earlier ruling by the EPA Environmental Appeals Board, which found there was no reason for the Bush administration to refuse to limit carbon emissions from new coal plants. Read the Sierra Club press release

Clinton, Stern to Emphasize Climate During Asia Trip This Week

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will arrive in Asia today with climate change as a prime focus. Clinton said on Friday that during her weeklong trip to Asia this week, she would demand a more "rigorous and persistent engagement" from Asian leaders in solving global problems such as climate change. During a speech last Friday, Clinton spent much of her time talking about climate change and energy efficiency. Todd Stern, the State Dept.'s newly appointed Special Envoy on Climate Change, will join Clinton. In addition to China, they will make stops in Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. Read more at NY Times

Sen. Udall Calls for 25% Renewable Energy by 2020

Senator Tom Udall (D-CO) introduced Congress's first Senate bill last week that would establish a 6% renewable energy standard by 2012, gradually increasing to 25% by 2025. The bill's requirements are higher than the draft plan that Sen. Bingaman (D-NM) has shared with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which would establish a RES of 20% by 2021. Udall's targets line up with those of Rep. Markey (D-MA) in the House, who introduced a measure that would also reach 25% renewable by 2025. Read more at E&E (sub'd. req.)

Congressional Dems Differ on Combining RES and Cap-and-Trade

Senate and House Democrats haven't reached agreement on whether a federal Renewable Energy Standard (RES) and cap-and-trade system should be combined in a single bill. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Waxman (D-CA) said he would be interested in merging the measures for a vote before Memorial Day. Sen. Bingaman (D-NM), on the other hand, wants RES to be voted on early this year, followed by climate legislation at a later date. President Obama supports both measures, but would like to at least sign an RES into law by this summer. In a Senate hearing last week, Sen. Murkowski (R-AL) questioned whether RES and cap-and-trade amounted to conflicting goals. "Is our aim to simply increase renewable energy production, or is the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?" Read more at E&E (sub'd req.)

House GOP Requests Judicial Review of Potential Cap-and-Trade Legislation

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and four Judicial Committee ranking members asked for committee hearings on whether any cap-and-trade legislation must start in the House because it would raise revenue for the government like a tax. The GOP lawmakers suggested that if such a review did not go forward cap-and-trade legislation could later be overturned in the courts. Rep. Markey (D-MA) claimed the action was a political ploy, saying that this issue had been decided upon last year when cap-and-trade legislation had been introduced. Read more at E&E (sub'd req.)

Major Shifts in Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Assignments

The composition of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee has seen a major shift from last year, almost completely changing the lineup on the Democratic side. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington will take charge of the Energy Subcommittee, while freshman Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado will head up the National Parks Subcommittee and new committee member Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan will lead the Water and Power panel. Read more at E&E (sub'd req.)

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Outside the Beltway

UN Ban Ki-moon Hopes Obama to Star at Mini-Summit

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is organizing a meeting where he hopes Obama will promote a new U.S. environmental policy position to an international audience. Ban apparently plans to invite Obama and several dozen other world leaders to New York in late March to discuss climate change before high-level talks on the global financial crisis in London on April 2. The discussion could help accelerate international negotiations ahead of the UN climate meeting in Copenhagen this December. So far, it is unclear if Obama will participate. Read more at Reuters

Oregon & Maryland Governors Push for Ambitious GHG Limits

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is supporting a bill that would reduce carbon emissions 25 percent by 2020. A similar bill was killed in the state senate last year by opposition from unions and manufactures, but this bill is expected to pass after proponents essentially exempted manufactures from strict targets. At a news conference, Gov. O'Malley said Maryland is the "fourth most vulnerable state in America" to the effects of climate change. Read more at Baltimore Sun

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski recently made a rare appearance before the state legislature to push a state-level cap-and-trade system that would eventually cover 90 percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The governor argued that limiting carbon dioxide could lead to environmentally-friendly energy sources, transportation and housing. In 2007 Oregon established a goal of reducing emissions by 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Read more at OregonLive.com

Major Airlines Want Aviation Emissions Regulation

Four major airlines met in Hong Kong last week to call for a climate pact that would include regulation of aviation emissions. This is the first time the aviation industry, which produces 2% of global CO2 emissions, has advocated for climate legislation. Air France/KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic and airport operator BAA said a climate deal must affect the industry globally, which would be better than "a patchwork of conflicting national and regional policies" that leads to "leakage." Read more at Reuters

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Capitol Hill Events

Feb 18-19: Meeting of the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (DOE)
Feb 18: Meeting on Heating/Refrigerating/Conditioning Energy Standards (DOE)
Feb 18: A New Electricity Business Model for a Low-Carbon World (Global Energy and Environment Initiative)
Feb 19: Climate Security Roundtable - U.S. and EU Research and Policy (Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars)
Feb 20: Intro to IRENA Briefing (EESI)

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