From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
April 25, 2010
The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.
Week of April 17-24: As the almost-six-months-long efforts of John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman to put together federal climate legislation teeter precariously, support continues to grow for the CLEAR Act. 36 religious organizations released a statement in which they said they are “enthusiastic about the CLEAR Act.” On Earth Day, April 22nd, Public Opinion Strategies released the results of polling that show “a policy similar to the CLEAR Act generated strong support from Republicans, Democrats and independents.” Senator Susan Collins, speaking at a National Journal forum on April 19th, indicated that Republican support for federal climate legislation will likely depend upon whether money raised is rebated to consumers. She also stated that she sees possibilities for the incorporation of CLEAR Act legislative provisions during a possible Senate floor debate over a bill passed in a bi-partisan way by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year. Senate Maria Cantwell was interviewed by Elizabeth Kolbert for Yale University’s Environmental 360 website, and a Climate Wire article explored the views of Maine’s two Republican Senators, seen as key votes.
In This Issue:
- A New Nationwide Poll and Surveys in Five Moderate States Shows Majority Support for Energy Reform; “Clean Energy Refund” Preferred by Republicans
- Collins: GOP Political Support for Carbon Caps Depends on Where the Money Goes
- Elizabeth Kolbert Interviews Maria Cantwell
- Religious Groups Sign-on Letter: “We Are Enthusiastic About the CLEAR Act”
- Maine’s Republican Senators and the Efforts to Pass Federal Climate Legislation
- Susan Collins Sees Possible Window for Cap and Dividend
#1 A New Nationwide Poll and Surveys in Five Moderate States Shows Majority Support for Energy Reform; “Clean Energy Refund” Preferred by Republicans
On April 22nd a media briefing was held to announce the results of a Public Opinion Strategies national survey and a smaller five state survey asking likely voters about potential climate legislation. The surveys were conducted in Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Idaho and Virginia, five politically moderate to conservative states. They indicated that a majority of voters across party lines want to overhaul the nation’s energy system to reduce polluting emissions and increase the use of renewable energy sources.
Other key results of the survey were that a clean energy refund has the best potential to attract Republican support, and that in a national survey, a description of a policy similar to the CLEAR Act generated strong support from Republicans, Democrats and independents.
To see the full report, go to http://supportclearact.com/resources
#2 Collins: GOP Political Support for Carbon Caps Depends on Where the Money Goes
Speaking at a National Journal forum on April 19th, Senator Susan Collins said, as reported in The Hill, “that Republicans will be more likely to support capping greenhouse gas emissions if the majority of the money raised under a climate law is steered to consumers.
“’If it is going to produce, over the next 10 years, trillions of dollars of revenue that go to Washington, there is not a lot of [GOP] interest in doing that,” Collins said. ‘If, on the other hand, the majority of the money is going to be rebated to consumers, I think there would be more openness to that,’ she added.”
To see the full article go to: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/93237-collins-gop-political-support-for-carbon-caps-depends-on-where-the-money-goes
#3 Elizabeth Kolbert Interviews Maria Cantwell
In a wide-ranging interview conducted by Elizabeth Kolbert for the Yale University Environment 360 website, Senator Cantwell expands upon the policy and political strengths of the CLEAR Act. Among her statements: “It takes some time to turn the ship toward an idea that is different. But I can’t think of any better time, when the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] is deciding that it needs to go after Wall Street for credit default swaps, to make the point that you don’t want to make the same kind of mistake here.”
To see the full interview go to: http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2265
#4 Religious Groups Sign-on Letter: “We Are Enthusiastic About the CLEAR Act”
A statement released by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns on April 19th and signed by 36 religious organizations around the country called upon Congress “to move swiftly by joining Senators Cantwell and Collins in moving the Clean Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act, S.2877. We are enthusiastic about the CLEAR Act, introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA) and Sen. Susan Collins (ME) in December 2009. It outlines a promising structure for the United States to reduce its carbon footprint while encouraging the development of alternative, sustainable energy systems.”
To see the full statement and list of signers go to: http://www.theshalomcenter.org/node/1703
#5 Maine’s Republican Senators and the Efforts to Pass Federal Climate Legislation
In a Climate Wire article published on April 19th, the views of Maine’s two U.S. Senators, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, on climate legislation are explored. Described as holding the “balance of power” in the effort to put a price on carbon emissions, “their support in any effort to stem global warming might seem almost automatic. Sen. Susan Collins stomached a lurching helicopter ride between mountains and slept in an Antarctic hut to get a firsthand view of evidence of abrupt climate shifts of the past. Sen. Olympia Snowe introduced global warming legislation more than 20 years ago.”
For the full article go to:
http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1243
#6 Susan Collins Sees Window for Cap and Dividend
In an article published on the SolveClimate.org website, Senator Collins is quoted as seeing the opportunity for adding in major elements of the CLEAR Act as part of a possible Senate floor debate over legislation passed by a Senate committee last year. “During a National Journal forum, [she] said that the best approach might be to start with the bill that has the most support — the energy-only bill approved last summer by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee — and then add in other elements during debate on the Senate floor. ‘It’s a bipartisan bill that’s supported by both the committee chairman [Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M)] and the ranking member [Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)]. If that were brought to the floor, it could be a platform to debate a clean energy bill, such as the one Maria Cantwell and I have introduced.’”
For the full article go to: http://solveclimate.com/blog/20100420/taking-climate-bill-straight-senate-floor-could-open-window-cap-and-dividend
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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.
