As the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act hits the Senate floor today, different players will attempt to shape this bill.  With a few strengthening amendments, the act has the potential to create thousands of green jobs and to help American families pay for rising energy costs, while significantly reducing global warming pollution.  As Senators Boxer, Kerry, Klobuchar, Cardin, and Snowe said at today’s press conference, the world cannot wait another year, this is about our survival.

The Climate Security Act will establish a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide and other global warming pollution.  By allowing the free market to set the price of carbon emissions, it will create thousands of green jobs, help families cope with rising energy costs, and significantly reduce America’s contribution to the threat of global warming.  Cap-and-trade successfully reduced acid rain pollution in the past, and is supported by members of both parties, all three Presidential candidates, the religious community, and household industrial names like Dow and Dupont.

During debate, forward-thinking Senators of both parties will introduce amendments to strengthen the bill.  One likely amendment will work to ensure that a significant portion of the money generated by the bill is quickly distributed to working families to help cover rising energy costs and to the promotion of clean energy job creation.  A second helps distribute money to states to help them invest in clean energy technologies, reduce pollution, and create green jobs at home.  A third amendment requires the EPA to use genuine and impartial scientific review through the US National Academy of Sciences to ensure that the cap-and-trade program is working and to make adjustments based on the most up-to-date scientific analysis.

On the other side, Big Oil and the coal companies are working with their allies, led by Senators Inhofe and McConnell, to introduce amendments that would pull the teeth of this bill.  Two are of particular concern. The first amendment introduces the usual outdated nuclear subsidies, while the second introduces an artificial price ceiling for carbon emissions.

The goal of a cap-and-trade system is to gradually make it more cost effective for companies to stop polluting. As a reduced supply of emissions credits are available over time, the price will go up, and demand for pollution credits will go down.  This amendment makes the bill worthless, saying that if the price goes above a certain price, the government will arbitrarily print more credits, rendering the reduction targets meaningless and erasing any incentive for companies to become more efficient.

If the Senate can stand firm, strengthen and pass this bill, the Climate Security Act will be a vital step towards reducing global warming pollution and creating a clean energy economy.  If Senators Inhofe and McConnell manage to weaken and defeat it, another, stronger bill will appear next year, but that is a year that we can ill afford to wait.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 1:03 pm and is filed under Politics, Energy/Environment .