Capitol Hotline (July 13)

USCAN Capitol Hotline
July 13, 2009

In this issue

• Hot Topic of the Week

o    G8 Establishes Ambitious Long-Term Emissions Reduction Target

• USCAN Conference Materials
• Inside the Beltway

o    Reid Reschedules Committee Deadline to Late Sept.

o    Senate to Modify Climate Bill Tariff Language

o    DOE Budget to Boost Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency

• Outside the Beltway

o    Poll: Scientists, Public Differ on Cause of Global Warming

o    Utah Coal Plant Scrapped by Los Angeles' 'Coal free' Pledge

• Capitol Hill Events
• Other Headlines

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Hot Topic of the Week

G8 Establishes Ambitious Long-Term Emissions Reduction Target

G8 leaders agreed to more ambitious cuts in greenhouse gas emissions than ever before last week in Italy. Heads of state decided on 80% reductions by 2050 while also committing to limit global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the level scientists say the Earth’s climate would become dangerously unstable. While the Major Economies Forum, during the G8 Summit, failed to agree to halve global emissions by 2050, developed and developing countries both acknowledged the need to stay below 2 degrees of warming and all of them committed to prepare low-carbon growth strategies to reduce emissions. They also agreed to work toward a 2050 goal by the UN conference in Copenhagen this December. USCAN Media Advisory | G8 Summit Declaration | Major Economies Forum Declaration | Read more at Financial Times

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USCAN Conference Materials

USCAN and the C-Campaign held a two-day strategic planning conference last week in DC. The focus of the event was preparing a campaign strategy and effective messages that motivated Americans to alert Senate lawmakers of their support for the climate and energy bill.

During the opening keynote address, Senator Kerry told more than 150 organizers from across the nation that early and persistent engagement with his colleagues is essential. The climate and energy proposal, which seeks to set limits greenhouse gas emissions and invest in the clean energy sector, is the most economically significant and politically challenging legislation he’s confronted in a 26-year Senate career. Noting his work on nuclear proliferation, diplomatic treaties, budget, and important environmental legislation, including the 1997 floor fight to ratify the Kyoto Treaty, Sen. Kerry said, “This is bigger. We will have a battle royale. This is bigger and what you are engaged in over the new weeks and months is bigger.”

Conference notes and materials are now available in the member-area of the USCAN website. Don't have an account yet? Register here.

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Inside the Beltway

Reid Reschedules Committee Deadline to Late Sept.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed back the deadline for committee action on the climate bill to Sept. 28. The move gives the six committees holding jurisdiction over the bill more time to assemble their cases before what is expected to be an intense floor battle. Accordingly, Barbara Boxer, Chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works committee has postponed her committees planned mark-up on the bill from before the August recess to September. Read more at E&E (sub. req'd).

Senate to Modify Climate Bill Tariff Language

Senate Democrats will change a provision in the American Clean Energy and Security Act that would let Congress tax cheaper goods coming from countries that don’t adopt emission limits. “We’ve already come to the conclusion that we are going to change that provision,” said Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-MA). No decision has been made on how the trade provision will be modified. Last month President Obama warned against sending “protectionist signals” by including the provision. Read more at E&E

DOE Budget to Boost Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency

The House will likely have a floor vote on a spending bill this week that provides $26.9 billion to the Department of Energy. The bill increases renewable energy, energy efficiency and science funding. An energy and water spending bill is also moving through the Senate that increases spending levels by $500 million, but is $1.1 billion below the White House 2010 budget request, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Both versions scale back the administration’s push for “innovation hubs” to provide a focal point for collaboration on the development of breakthrough low-carbon technology. Read more at New York Times

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Outside the Beltway

Poll: Scientists, Public Differ on Cause of Global Warming

Only half of the American public accepts that human activity is causing global warming, compared to 84% of scientists, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Scientists were also far more likely to regard global warming as a serious problem. Read the report

Utah Coal Plant Scrapped by Los Angeles’ ‘Coal free’ Pledge

The City of Los Angeles’s pledge to be “coal free” by 2020 has terminated plans for a new coal-powered power plant in Utah. The Intermountain Power Agency aborted preparations for a third 900-megawatt coal-fired generator on Thursday after the announcement last week from the plants biggest consumer. Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans for renewable energy, nuclear, hydroelectric, and natural gas resources to power the city in the future. Read more at The New York Times

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Capitol Hill Events

• July 14: Hearing on wind and solar R&D (House Sci & Tech)
• July 14: Hearing on transportation's role in climate change (Senate EPW)
• July 16: Hearing on climate change and economy (Senate EPW)

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Other Headlines

• Greenpeace activists scale Mount Rushmore in global warming protest
• The Climate for Climate-Related Insurance at AIG Turns Bleak
• Report: Efficiency and Renewables Can Save US $200B Annually

Rhys Gerholdt

Online Comm. Manager & Media Specialist

US Climate Action Network (USCAN)

Direct: 202-621-6234

Cell: 202-341-1323