Author: CCAN Supporter

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

August 4, 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, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

To view past Cap and Dividend Policy Updates go to: http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/template/page.cfm?id=548

Since August 5th: With Congress in recess and with election campaign season in full swing, little-to-nothing has been happening on Capitol Hill to advance climate legislation. When Congress returns next week, the odds are long that much will happen. Many climate and environmental groups are reassessing what their strategies should be going forward. The articles below indicate that the cap-and-dividend approach to comprehensive climate legislation continues to gain attention and support.

In This Issue:

1.  Open Secrets: CLEAR Act approach keeps “popping up for discussion”

2.  E&E News: Economics for Equity and Environment group supports cap and dividend approach

3.  E&E TV, On Point:  Harvard study author on cap-and-trade experiences

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1.  Open Secrets: CLEAR Act approach keeps “popping up for discussion”

“’We have kept an eye on this bill for our clients because Sens. Cantwell and Collins are serious legislators,” said Deborah Sliz, chief executive officer of the lobbying firm Morgan Meguire, which has reported lobbying on the CLEAR Act for its clients, City Utilities of Springfield and the Northeast Public Power Association since January. ‘This is an innovative approach that has kept popping up for discussion.’ ‘We have as a company tried to identify and support legislation that addresses climate change and greenhouse gas emissions in an effective manner that is not onerous to our customers,’ added Roger Thompson, a spokesman for Puget Sound Energy, which is also backing the CLEAR Act and lobbied on the measure since the third quarter of 2009.

For the full article go to: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/08/bipartisan-bill-to-price-carbon.html

2.  E&E News: Economics for Equity and Environment group supports cap and dividend approach

“Kristin Sheeran, head of the E3 Network, said if it were put to a popular vote, cap and dividend would get more support than current policies. ‘I can’t imagine why a dividend type of approach wouldn’t appeal to them more than cap and trade, where most of the allowances are given away,’ she said. Sheeran and her colleagues hold out little hope for a climate policy this Congress, but in the longer term, she said, new ideas will have to come to the fore. She lamented the number of cap-and-trade efforts that have been designed in recent years to get ‘political buy-ins,’ only to fail. ‘It hasn’t seemed to work, has it?’

For the full article go to: http://supportclearact.com/news/can-stiff-carbon-price-and-generous-rebate-policy-change-energy-use-ee-news-saqib-rahim

3. E&E TV, On Point:  Harvard study author on cap-and-trade experiences:

“My own view is that things are largely on the wrong track in the U.S. The cap-and-trade system, which the Europeans have adopted and which we’re talking about, in my judgment, China will not engage in such a scheme and yet we need them. So, we need to think beyond the United States. We need to think about what will work in the world as a whole and we’re not doing that. That’s the major flaw. And then secondarily, if one plays the thought experiment of cap and trade elsewhere in the world, it is an absolute, for the reasons your earlier question suggested, it’s an absolute set up for corruption. So, I think we’re on the wrong track.”

For the full transcript go to: http://www.eenews.net/tv/transcript/1181

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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.

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

August 4, 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, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

To view past Cap and Dividend Policy Updates go to: http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/template/page.cfm?id=548

Since July 22nd: It’s now history: there will be no effort to pass legislation in the Senate on energy policy or preventing future oil spills until, maybe, sometime in September. Two weeks ago Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced that the legislation he would be introducing would not include either a cap on greenhouse gas emissions of any kind or a Renewable Energy Standard. As climate and environmental groups gear up to vocally and visibly express concern and anger when Senators and House members are back home in August and September, support for a cap and dividend approach to climate legislation continues to grow. Among those who have come out in support in the last week are David Jenkins of Republicans for Environmental Protection, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek and Joe Klein of Time Magazine. And Bill McKibben’s latest column on the climate crisis puts it all within the bigger context.

In This Issue:

1.  Lee Wasserman in NY Times: Four ways to kill a climate bill.

2.  David Jenkins on FrumForum: Reid and Obama fail to lead

3.  Jonathan Alter in NY Times: Replace ‘cap and trade’ with ‘cap and rebate’

4.  Joe Klein in Time Magazine: There will be an energy bill. . . soon

5.  Bill McKibben: Hot as hell and not going to take it anymore

6.  Phil Sizemore on Daily Kos:  High time to look for an alternative

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1.  Lee Wasserman in NY Times: Four ways to kill a climate bill

“If President Obama and Congress had announced that no financial reform legislation would pass unless Goldman Sachs agreed to the bill, we would conclude our leaders had been standing in the Washington sun too long. Yet when it came to addressing climate change, that is precisely the course the president and Congress took. Lacking support from those most responsible for the problem, they have given up on passing a major climate bill this year.” 

For the full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/opinion/26wasserman.html?_r=1&ref=global&pagewanted=print 

2.  David Jenkins on FrumForum: Reid and Obama fail to lead

“Another Republican, Senator Susan Collins of Maine, is co-sponsor of a bipartisan cap-and-dividend climate bill with Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Neither of these bills had clear support from President Obama and Senator Reid.  Neither Obama nor Reid has said much of anything about the Collins-Cantwell bill, the only bipartisan bill in the hopper. Instead of getting behind a specific bill, Obama and Reid spoke in generalities and stood on the sideline with their fingers in the air trying to gauge which way the wind was blowing. Reid would tell bill sponsors that he would allow a vote on their proposal only if they brought him 60 votes. What kind of leadership is that?”

For the full article go to: http://www.frumforum.com/the-dems-climate-change-fail

3. Jonathan Alter in NY Times: Replace ‘cap and trade’ with ‘cap and rebate’

“President Obama shouldn’t — and won’t — be content to rest on his big victories on health care and financial regulation. But ‘putting points on the board’ (his preferred basketball metaphor for politics) requires harder thinking on how to frame the debate around every issue. He could replace ‘cap and trade’ with ‘cap and rebate’ — a crowd pleaser that would put thousands of dollars into the average American’s pocket, often offsetting higher energy prices.”

For the full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/opinion/18obama.html?pagewanted=5&ref=contributors

4.  Joe Klein in Time Magazine: There will be an energy bill. . . soon

“’Putting a price on carbon is the only alternative,’ says Senator Maria Cantwell, who has offered a bill–with Maine Republican Susan Collins as co-sponsor–that would force the 2000 top polluters to participate in an auction to purchase the right to spew; 75% of the income would be returned as a ‘dividend’ to taxpayers, the other 25% would go to alternative energy. ‘There’s no question that we will have a bill before the EPA regulations kick in.’”

For the full article go to: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/07/23/there-will-be-an-energy-bill-soon/

5.  Bill McKibben: Hot as hell and not going to take it anymore

“We need a stiff price on carbon, set by the scientific understanding that we can’t still be burning black rocks a couple of decades hence. That undoubtedly means upending the future business plans of Exxon and BP, Peabody Coal and Duke Energy, not to speak of everyone else who’s made a fortune by treating the atmosphere as an open sewer for the byproducts of their main business. Instead they should pay through the nose for that sewer, and here’s the crucial thing: most of the money raised in the process should be returned directly to American pockets. The monthly check sent to Americans would help fortify us against the rise in energy costs, and we’d still be getting the price signal at the pump to stop driving that SUV and start insulating the house.”

For the full article go to: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175281/tomgram%3A_bill_mckibben%2C_a_wilted_senate_on_a_heating_planet/

6. Phil Sizemore on Daily Kos:  High time to look for an alternative

“For those of us who would settle for a weaker bill that accomplishes something, but are alarmed by the continual paring back of the climate provisions in Senate bills, it seems high time to look at alternative methods of reaching our goal. Many, like Al Gore, favor a carbon tax. Personally, my eye has been caught by a novel approach offered by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME).”

For the full article go to: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/8/2/889790/-Benefits-of-a-Cap-and-Dividend-System

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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.

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

July 21, 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, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

Since July 4th: Since returning from a week-long recess on July 12th, Senate leadership and the White House have been attempting to come up with off-shore drilling/energy/climate legislation that has a chance of passing in the Senate. Just today, July 21st, 12 U.S. Senators came forward with a public letter to Senator Harry Reid which calls for, among other things, a price on carbon and a return of the majority of the monies raised from it directly to American households. This is similar to what President Obama said on the campaign trail when he was running for office in 2008. Many environmental and climate activists wish that he would play a more active leadership role to advance a climate agenda. In the meantime, Peter Barnes, George Lakoff and others continue advocating for the bi-partisan CLEAR Act, and the former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin endorses legislation that puts a price on carbon.

In This Issue:
1. Twelve Senators Outline Principles for Comprehensive Climate and Energy Legislation to Majority Leader Reid
2. Politico:  Many greens critical of White House role in climate legislation
3. Peter Barnes: Breaking the Gordian knot on climate legislation
4. George Lakoff: Saving nature is the central issue, the CLEAR Act does it
5. Former CBO head Douglas Holtz-Eakin supports price on carbon and positively references CLEAR Act
6. Michigan paper carries column in support of CLEAR Act

#1  Twelve Senators Outline Principles for Comprehensive Climate and Energy Legislation to Majority Leader Reid

“In a document released on July 21st, 12 U.S. Senators signed onto a letter to Senator Harry Reid which called for legislation that put a price on carbon that “should include the following characteristics:

– A target of at least a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas pollution from 2009 levels by 2020, and an 83% reduction by 2050.  This 1% reduction per year through 2020 is consistent with President Obama’s goal of a 17% overall reduction in greenhouse gas pollution by 2020.  
– Equal or greater investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy as for subsidies given to traditional, non-renewable fuels from revenues raised by establishing a price on carbon.
– Protect consumers by returning a majority of the revenue generated from pricing carbon directly to American households.  
– Retain all existing authorities related to conventional pollutants.  We should not weaken existing pollution laws that protect public health and the environment in exchange for establishing a price on carbon.”

For the full letter go to: http://whitehouse.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=c8be8858-aa1e-4872-b41e-670fc98b11cb

#2  Politico:  Many greens critical of White House role in climate legislation

“[Senator Harry] Reid, who has repeatedly said that he needs the White House to become more engaged, will huddle Thursday with the Democratic Caucus as he tries to find a path for floor debate, perhaps as early as next week. ‘I think it’s pretty clear we have to do something,’ Reid told reporters last month. ‘The question is what do we do. Now a lot of that depends on what the White House is going to do to help us get something done.’

During last year’s House debate, Obama gave up a campaign pledge to auction off 100 percent of a cap-and-trade program’s valuable compliance allowances, instead accepting free giveaways to different industrial sectors, including power plants and trade-sensitive manufacturers.”

For the full article go to: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39996_Page2.html#ixzz0uLEgLbiR

#3  Peter Barnes: Breaking the Gordian knot on climate legislation

“The interesting political question is what to do with the 25 percent of auction revenue that isn’t returned to the people. The sums involved aren’t chicken feed: they’d amount to hundreds of billions of dollars over 40 years. The present version of the bill puts that money in a trust fund dedicated to an assortment of climate-friendly purposes. But other uses of this revenue might give the bill more traction while preserving its core virtue — installing a rising price on carbon in a simple, transparent and popular, hence durable, way. What if, for example, that 25 percent was allocated to two grand public purposes: grants to states for job creation and federal deficit reduction?”

For the full article go to:  http://www.grist.org/article/cash-jobs-and-deficit-reduction-a-way-forward-on-climate

#4  George Lakoff: Saving nature is the central issue, the CLEAR Act does it

“Saving nature is the central issue. Carbon fuels destroy nature. The Gulf Death Gusher is the most visible sign. But signs are everywhere. Overall global warming increases hurricanes and floods, destroys habitats for plants, fish, birds, and ground animals, spreads deserts, causes deadly waves, and destroys glaciers and our polar ice caps. The use of carbon fuels has been destroying nature. Our job now is to save it.

Interestingly, there is a short, 39-page bill before the Senate that would allow us to save nature and get paid substantially for doing it. It is the CLEAR bill, first suggested by Peter Barnes, and introduced by Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). It is simple, it works, and it pays you!  “

For the full article go to:  http://blog.buzzflash.com/contributors/3349

#5  Former CBO head Douglas Holtz-Eakin supports price on carbon and positively references CLEAR Act

“If you want to take care of carbon emissions, you should use market forces, as your bill with Senator Collins does. So that there’s a price on carbon and people respond appropriately to innovate new technologies that don’t emit carbon and substitute away from those that do. That’s a much more rational course.”

For more information go to:  http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=326389

#6  Michigan paper carries column in support of CLEAR Act

“CLEAR includes provisions that allows for flexibility depending on changes in the scientific understanding of climate change, the need to stabilize carbon equivalents to protect the Earth’s climate, subsequent international obligations, maintenance of international economic competitiveness, success of future carbon sequestration projects, and ensuring an appropriate price for the health of the clean energy sector.  There is also a credit available for voluntary carbon-reduction programs.  The Act has enforcement provisions providing substantial penalties for non-com
pliance.”

For the full article go to: http://www.mlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/07/post_33.html

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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.