LAWMAKERS, ENVIROS CALL FOR CLIMATE ACTION IN 2013

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
1/11/13

Environmentalists appear to be ramping up efforts to push for Congressional and White House action on climate change this year, based on potential legislation and an open letter to President Barack Obama that was floated this week. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said this week that he will soon introduce legislation that will “move aggressively” to reverse global warming by imposing a fee on greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s largest polluters. “We must take strong action to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and move toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy,” Sanders said in a statement. While language has not yet been developed, the measure will aim to further incentivize investment in energy efficiency and renewables while ending all subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuels, according to Sanders’ office.

An outspoken member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources and Environment and Public Works committees, Sanders said it is time to act “boldly” on global warming in the new Congress. He cited the damage from Hurricane Sandy as one of his incentives to act now, as well as data from a Jan. 8 report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Climatic Data Center, which said 2012 was the warmest year on record in the lower 48 states by a “wide margin.” That report said the average U.S. temperature in 2012 was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit, a full degree warmer than the pervious record set in 1998.

That NOAA data set also prompted others to call for Congressional action on climate change this week. “We need to focus now on what we must do to address climate change so that we can protect our people, local communities and the nation’s economy,” Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a statement. Rep. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat running for the Senate seat expected to be vacated by Sen. John Kerry (D) if confirmed as Secretary of State, said 2013 should be “a year for climate action.” “Our planet is warming, our oceans are rising, and our storms are strengthening. Congress can no longer afford to watch the devastation from an air conditioned perch,” Markey said in a statement.

Congress Likely to Be Weary of Climate Legislation

Sanders’ legislation will likely be a tough sell for Congress, though, which is still grappling with lingering debt ceiling and budget issues. The Republican-controlled House has particularly balked at any proposals that could compromise economic growth and job creation. After a cap-and-trade bill backed by the Obama Administration failed to gain traction in the Senate in 2010, the prospects for comprehensive carbon legislation in Congress all but stalled. A brief hope that Republicans could embrace a revenue-neutral carbon tax as a partial fix for the “fiscal cliff” was quickly dashed after the November elections when both the White House and other Congressional leaders backed away from the proposal.

Much of the action on climate change over the last two years has instead come from the Obama Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency has enacted mercury and air toxics regulations, stringent vehicle emission standards and proposed greenhouse gas performance standards for new fossil fuel-fired power plants. Those regulations, coupled with cheap natural gas prices, have led the country closer to reaching the 17 percent emissions reduction goal set by Obama in 2009, a recent Resources for the Future study said.

Environmental Groups Urge Obama to Drive Discussions

Despite the fact that the country has inched closer to reaching its emissions reduction goal, environmental groups have continuously called on Obama to push for more decreases. A group of nearly six dozen environmental and public health groups called on the White House this week to continue spearheading action to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions. In a Jan. 7 open letter, the coalition, which included major environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, Defenders of Wildlife and the League of Conservation Voters, said Obama should continue efforts to limit carbon emissions under the authority of the Clean Air Act. “Power plants are our largest source of carbon pollution and you have the authority and responsibility to clean them up under the Clean Air Act,” the letter said. The environmental groups particularly urged action to limit emissions from existing power plants.

The letter also called on the President to “continue underscoring the threat of climate change” with the American people by elevating the issue in the public discourse. The coalition said the White House should also reject the Keystone XL pipeline extension. “Cutting carbon pollution at home and rejecting dirty fuels will establish America’s leadership and credibility, enabling you to create clean energy jobs in the United States while forging an effective international coalition to cut global carbon pollution,” the letter stated. “We urge you to elevate climate solutions to the top tier of your domestic agenda and America’s bilateral and global diplomatic priorities.” A separate letter from the Clean Air Task Force mirrors many of those proposals and also calls on the Administration to continue driving the development of low-carbon technologies like carbon capture and storage, advanced nuclear and renewables.

NRDC pitched a strategy last month that suggested EPA work with individual states to set up carbon emissions reduction rates based on the current fuel mix of each that would allow power generators to choose their own suite of energy technologies to comply with the limits. NRDC said the proposal would cost about $4 billion in 2020 and would reduce carbon emissions from the country’s power plants 26 percent by the end of the decade.