Capitol Hotline (May 26)

USCAN Capitol Hotline
May 26, 2009

In this issue

• Hot Topic of the Week
• House Energy & Commerce Committee Passes Major Climate Bill
• New Member-Only Resources
• Inside the Beltway
• Obama's New Fuel Economy Standards Model California's
• Thirty Governors Form Energy and Climate Coalition
• Outside the Beltway
• China & U.S. Negotiate on Climate Change
• UN Releases Draft Negotiating Text
• Other Headlines

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Hot Topic of the Week

House Energy & Commerce Committee Passes Major Climate Bill

Late last Thursday, the House Energy & Commerce Committee voted 33-25 to pass the American Clean Energy & Security Act, which includes a cap-and-trade system and a nation-wide renewable electricity standard. Four Democrats, Representatives Barrow, Mathenson, Melancon and Ross voted against the bill, while Rep. Mary Bono Mack of California, a Republican, voted for it. "While I still have significant concerns about this bill ... I believe this is the right direction for our district, for our nation and for our future," Bono Mack said in a statement.

During the weeklong markup, the committee voted down dozens of amendments that would have weakened the bill or even scrapped the cap-and-trade program if it prompted job losses or energy price increases. Among the failed measures was a request by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) to expand the definition of renewable biomass, Rep. Lee Terry's (R-NE) amendment requiring the cessation of the bill if gas prices topped $5 a gallon, and an amendment from Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) to define nuclear energy as renewable. "Most of these amendments are just political," noted Rep. Gene Green (D-TX) during markup.

The few amendments that passed included creating a federal "clean energy" bank and establishing a "cash for clunkers" plan that gives consumers vouchers toward replacing inefficient vehicles.

This was the first time a House committee has ever endorsed a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources. Now the bill will move to a number of other House committees before reaching the House floor.  Read more at E&E (sub'd req.)

Visit the USCAN Hot Topic page on ACES to browse USCAN member press releases, articles and other ACES-related resources

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Member-Only Resources

The following resources (talking points, sign-on letters, polling data, reports and more) were added to the USCAN website recently. You must login to access some of them. Need an account? Register here.

• Talking Points in Response to Gov. Mitch Daniels' Op-Ed
• Domestic Climate Bill: Vital to an International Climate Agreement
• The Vital Link Between Domestic Legislation and a Global Climate Solution
• Impact of 2007 Wind Farms on US Treasury
• Global Warming's Six Americas 2009: An Audience Segmentation Analysis
• Mitigating the Impact of Climate Legislation On the Low- and Middle-Income Residential Consumer
• What Business Groups & Investors Have to Say About International Climate Investments
• EDF: Global Warming Fact Check #5
• Emission Reductions Under the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

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Inside the Beltway

Obama's New Fuel Economy Standards Model California's

President Obama announced stricter national standards for fuel efficiency and emissions last Tuesday. His proposal would require both domestic and foreign automakers to increase the fleet fuel efficiency of vehicles sold in America by 5 percent per year from 2012 to 2016. After 2016, the fleet fuel efficiency for all passenger cars will be 39 mpg and 30 mpg for light trucks and SUVs, four years earlier than under 2007 legislation.

The standards are expected to add $1,300 on average to vehicle costs, but Obama said drivers would make that back within three years due to savings on gas. Administration officials say the program will have the effect of removing 900 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the air or the equivalent of shutting down 194 coal-fired power plants.

The proposal is based largely on tailpipe emission requirements proposed by California. The state was recently granted a waiver by the EPA which would allow the state to enforce requirements stricter than nation-wide standards, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to forgo the state program in light of the national program modeled on California's. Read more on Fox News

Thirty Governors Form Energy and Climate Coalition

Governors from thirty states joined a coalition to find common ground on a national strategy for action on climate change. The Governors' Energy and Climate Coalition will work with the federal government to build a national energy policy that "creates jobs and protections consumers and the environment," said participating Vermont Governor Jim Douglas. The bipartisan group includes governors from every region of the country. Read more at Burlington Free Press

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Outside the Beltway

China & U.S. Negotiate on Climate Change

Chinese and United States officials held unpublicized meetings in July 2008 to negotiate a bilateral agreement on climate change. Participants, including former Undersecretary of State Frank Loy and White House science advisor John Holdren, said the off-the-record sessions broke new ground, though no outcomes were published. A memorandum of understanding, which was not signed, outlined three specific ways the two countries could work together: use existing technologies to reduce emissions 20 percent by 2010; collaborate on CCS technology and vehicle fuel efficiency; and agree to sign a global climate agreement in Copenhagen this December.  Loy said participants gained a better understanding of the political realities both countries face, but little progress was made on a global climate agreement.  Last week, China released a document saying developed nations should be required to reduce emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, while China and other developing nations should take Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) which are "distinct from international legally-binding commitments of developed countries." Read more at Wall Street Journal

UN Releases Draft Negotiating Text

On May 20, the United Nations released draft negotiating text that could form the basis for a global climate agreement in Copenhagen this December. "This document marks an important point on our road," UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said. The 53-page text provides a range of options including that developed nations set aside up to 2 percent of their gross national product to help poor countries cope with global warming, while also calling for developing countries to do more to limit greenhouse gas pollution. The text suggested a long-term emissions reductions global goal of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. The text will be a "'living document' with parties modifying it and bringing new ideas to bear" said Michael Zammit Cutajar, the UN official who drafted the paper. Parties will soon have an opportunity to react to the draft negotiation text during the next UN climate talks in Bonn, Germany, June 1-12. Read more in Bloomberg

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Other Headlines

• U.S. Carbon Emissions Fall by Most Since '82
• Senate committee repels effort to strike renewable provision
• EPA urged to act on climate, not wait for Congress
• Climate Change Odds Much Worse Than Thought
• EPA approves 42 of 48 mountaintop mining permits
• World city chiefs told to act fast to save planet