Climate Change Developments in Washington, Texas, and at the UN
The week brought several developments concerning climate change legislation. A Republican senator is considering introducing an amendment to a fiscal appropriations bill that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources. Meanwhile, as reports emerged that Senate hearings on climate change legislation could begin next month, Texas Governor Rick Perry railed against the Waxman-Markey bill, and China pledged to slow growth of its carbon emissions.
Murkowski Amendment Could Prevent EPA Regulations on Stationary CO2 Emissions
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, could introduce an amendment (PDF) to the EPA’s annual spending bill—the fiscal 2010 Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill—that would allow, within the limitations of a year, the agency to regulate greenhouse gas emissions only from mobile sources.
The senator has not made a final decision to pursue the amendment, Reuters reported, but she has gone on record to say that it was important that any cap-and-trade legislation be crafted by the Senate, while EPA regulations could “poison” attempts to pass that legislation.
According to The New York Times, the amendment could also prohibit the agency from finalizing its renewable fuel standard as well as deter it from issuing Safe Drinking Water Act regulations for carbon capture and sequestration.
Sources: Reuters, The New York Times
Senate Markup of Climate Bill Could Begin in Mid-October
Legislative hearings of the Senate’s climate change and energy bill could begin on Oct. 5, with markups starting in the week of Oct. 12, sources told The New York Times on Monday.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee is reportedly looking to move the process along, bolstered by requests from the White House, which wants to pass the bill before the major climate summit in Copenhagen this December.
The news follows a statement from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week that the Senate may have to wait until next year to vote on climate change legislation. “We still have next year to complete things if we have to,” Reid told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the Senate had yet to hold votes on health care reform and financial regulatory reform.
Sources: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
Perry: Cap-and-Trade Program Could Derail Texas Economy
On Tuesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry told members of the state’s Public Utility Commission, the Texas Railroad Commission, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that a cap-and-trade program on carbon emissions would gravely damage the state’s economy.
The Waxman-Markey bill, which narrowly passed the U.S. House in June could “make every product that uses energy more expensive, forcing hardworking Texans to bear substantial new costs, and kicking a hole in our state’s economic strength,” the governor said.
“If the U.S. Senate should take leave of its senses and pass this bill, it would precipitate an economic disaster for Texas, making our state less secure and hindering our ability to keep competing with the rest of the world.”
Texas emitted 676 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel combustion in 2007—the most in the nation. Texas also currently leads the nation in wind power generation.
Source: Office of the Governor Rick Perry
China Commits to Cutting Carbon Emissions
China’s President Hu Jintao told leaders attending a United Nations one-day summit on climate change on Tuesday that the country would cut its carbon dioxide emissions by developing renewable and nuclear energy and increasing its share of non-fossil fuels to 15% by 2020.
“We will endeavour to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by a notable margin by 2020 from the 2005 level,” he said, without specificity, but indicating for the first time that the country would be prepared to sign a binding international agreement on emissions.
The summit was a run-up to the December conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, when governments around the world are expected to reach a global agreement on climate change measures.
Hu’s speech followed President Barack Obama’s call for developing nations to take “strong measures” on greenhouse gas emissions. Obama acknowledged Americans’ mixed views on climate change, saying that the global reluctance to act “is true of my own country as well.” He added, however, that the U.S. has done more to reduce carbon pollution in past eight months “than any time in our history.”
Sources: UN, Hu speech as transcribed by the The New York Times