Capitol Hotline (July 20)
Draft Senate climate bill drops Sept. 8, Kerry refutes Palin's claims on cap-and-trade, White House green jobs forecast, SE Climate & Energy conference, Groups rally behind House ACES supporters, Chu optimistic about Copenhagen, Clinton on emissions pact and India, Exxon invests $600 million in algae biofuels
In this issue
- Hot Topic of the Week
o Draft Senate Climate Bill Drops Sept. 8, Says Boxer; NAACP Offers Endorsement
- USCAN Conference Materials
- USCAN Advocacy
o Transportation Bill
- Inside the Beltway
o Kerry Refutes Palin's Claims on Cap-and-Trade
o White House Green Jobs Forecast
- Outside the Beltway
o Southeast Climate & Energy Network Conference This Week
o Groups Back Up -- and Rally Against -- House Bill Supporters
o Chu "Optimistic" About Copenhagen After China Visit
o Emissions Pact Will Not Hinder India’s Growth, Says Clinton
o Exxon Invests $600M in Algae Biofuels
- Capitol Hill Events
- Other Headlines
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Hot Topic of the Week
Draft Senate Climate Bill Drops Sept. 8, Says Boxer; NAACP Offers Endorsement
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer plans to introduce the Senate climate bill on September 8, the first day after Congress returns from summer recess. Boxer offered few details, but did say she anticipates at least one Republican co-sponsor and that the bill will delve into specifics on the distribution of emission allowances which was excluded in the House version. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has set a Sept. 28 deadline for the six Senate committees writing pieces of the bill. Numerous senators from both parties told press last week that they expect a nuclear component to be added to the bill. The Agricultural Committee is holding a hearing this Wednesday on the role agriculture and forestry will play in the legislation. Read more at E&E (sub. req’d)
NAACP came out in support of climate legislation last week, the first time the organization has addressed global warming directly. When she placed the endorsement into record, Boxer got into a heated verbal exchange with Harry Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce who took offense to the inclusion, calling it “racial.” In a statement, Jerome Ringo, past chair of the National Wildlife Federation and first African American to chair a major national environmental organization responded that including the NAACP resolution was appropriate “because confronting climate change can create 5 million jobs where they are needed most.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
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USCAN Conference Materials
A feature article about the USCAN and C-Campaign conference is now available on the USCAN website and more conference handouts have been added to the member-only 2009 USCAN Conference page.
Don’t have an account yet? Register here.
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USCAN Advocacy
As you meet with Senators in the EPW, Banking, Finance and other committees, our colleagues who are focused on transportation would like us to also highlight the importance of using the transportation bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The talking points they have created to facilitate this are available here. For more information, contact Colin Peppard, cpeppard@edf.org. Thanks!
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Inside the Beltway
Kerry Refutes Palin’s Claims on Cap-and-Trade
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin jumped into the climate debate last week with a scathing Washington Post op-ed on the climate bill, her first major foray since she announced her forthcoming resignation a couple weeks ago. Palin’s editorial claims cap-and-trade would undermine short-term recovery from the recession and inflict long-term damage on the economy. Hours after the op-ed ran, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) responded via The Huffington Post, asserting that Palin completely ignores the “irrefutable reality of climate change” before dissecting her accusations that cap-and-trade legislation will cost jobs and hurt low-income Americans.
White House Green Jobs Forecast
By 2016, green jobs will have grown by 52 percent from 2000 levels, a new White House study predicts. The employment forecast estimates President Obama’s stimulus package will create or save 3.5 million jobs by next year, combating 6.5 jobs lost since December 2007. Read more at Washington Post
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Outside the Beltway
Southeast Climate & Energy Network Conference This Week
On July 21, the Southeast Climate & Energy Network (SCEN) will convene their third in-person conference in Raleigh, NC. Here Southeast colleagues working on climate and energy issues work on a shared strategy for strengthening and passing climate and energy legislation and set the region up for success in the Senate and beyond.
SCEN now has over 100 members with five issue-specific working groups covering the areas of agriculture/forestry, faith, blue dogs, economics and national security/sea level rise. If you are interested in joining any of these groups, or in participating in the network, please contact Kellyn Eberhardt, USCAN Southeast Regional Coordinator at KEberhardt@climatenetwork.org.
Groups Back Up -- and Rally Against -- House Bill Supporters
Advocacy groups are in full swing thanking members of Congress who voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act. Their efforts follow a media blitz of radio ads and robo-calls by the National Republican Congressional Committee railing against some of the same lawmakers. Meanwhile, Club for Growth, a conservative political organization, is seeking 2010 challengers to the eight Republicans that voted for the measure. Last week the White House launched a rural tour focused on green jobs that will bring Cabinet secretaries to a number of rural districts. Read more at New York Times
Chu “Optimistic” About Copenhagen After China Visit
Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke visited China last week to continue climate negotiations and witness the establishment of a China-U.S. joint energy research center. The center will focus on carbon sequestration, building efficiency and clean vehicles. Chu said he was “greatly encouraged” by what he saw on the trip and was “optimistic” about Copenhagen. In May, China announced it would increase wind-power capacity fivefold by 2020 to 100,000 megawatts and raise its solar power target to 10 gigawatts. Read more at Bloomberg
Emissions Pact Will Not Hinder India’s Growth, Says Clinton
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised India’s efforts to boost clean energy and said the two countries would work together to reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions during her visit to the country this week. India’s environmental minister said that while India is not “oblivious” to their responsibility to reduce emissions, the country is not in a position to accept legally binding emission reduction targets. Clinton said the United States would not push an emissions pact that wound hinder India’s growth. Read more at Washington Post
Exxon Invests $600M in Algae Biofuels
After years of public opposition to renewable energy, Exxon Mobil has teamed up with biotech company Synthetic Genomics with a $600 million investment in making photosynthetic algae the next source of biofuel. The five-to-six-year plan involves the construction of a facility in San Diego to test both algae-growing and oil extraction techniques, with the understanding that the oil behemoth may devote billions more to scale-up the biodiesel fuels into commercial production. Read more at E&E News (sub. req’d)
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Capitol Hill Events
- July 21: Markup of energy research bills (House Sci & Tech)
- July 21: Hearing on cap-and-trade legislation (Senate EPW)
- July 21: Hearing on climate change and global security (Senate FR)
- July 22: Hearing on global warming and agriculture (Senate Agri.)
- July 22: Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP) Capitol Hill Briefing on Adapting to Climate Change Impacts in Urban Regions
- July 23: Hearing on smart grid implementation (House Sci & Tech)
- July 23: Hearing on climate change and vulnerable communities (House Foreign Affairs)
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Other Headlines
