Originally published on the CGS blog on October 23, 2009.
The House passed its version of climate legislation, the Waxman Markey Bill, in June, despite being criticized alternately for not doing enough and for doing too much to stop climate change. The Senate finally released its own version, the Kerry-Boxer Bill, last month, and now the same debates have started again.
A few differences between the bills are notable. The House bill sought to cut emissions by 17% of 2005 levels by 2020, while Senate bill aims to raise this to 20% of 2005 levels by 2020. However, the long-term targets of both bills are the same at this time: 42% by 2030 and 83% by 2050. The Senate Bill preserves the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, a provision lauded by environmentalists. Both bills cap carbon offsets at 2 billion tons per year, but the Senate bill seems to go further in making sure that the offsets are credible and effective. Also, nuclear energy is dealt with more in the Senate bill by devoting a section to promote the deployments of nuclear power plants.
Senators Kerry and Boxer have described their legislation as a “first step,” as they wish to add and change many provisions in their attempts to secure votes for the legislation’s passage. But the draft legislation is not the only first step to be taken. Passing climate legislation in the U.S. itself is just one step. Of course, neither of the bills are going to solve the problem. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that emissions need to be reduced to 25%-40% below 1990 levels by 2020 in order to revert the worst effects of climate change, which is already responsible for over 300,000 deaths a year according to the Global Humanitarian Forum. The Senate bill only reduces emissions to 7% of 1990 levels by 2020.
But we have to start somewhere. The Kerry-Boxer bill creates the foundation for stronger environmental action in the future by setting up systems and offices to deal with climate change mitigation. Moreover, Senators Boxer and Kerry said that the implementation of the bill would lead to the creation of 1.9 million jobs in the U.S., all without adding a single penny to the deficit. Senator Kerry has also noted that the energy market is a 6 trillion dollar market with about 4.5 billion eligible users. Transitioning to a clean energy economy not only takes the urgently needed step of combating climate change, it also represents opportunities for the future. It is time for Senators on both sides of the isle to unite in the fight against climate change, one step at a time.
