Lawmakers Share Energy Bill Outline With Energy Groups

By: Clean Skies News; compiled from various sources., Published: 03/18/10 3:51pm

Industry groups have now seen a draft outline of the Kerry Graham Lieberman climate bill.

As of right now, that legislation will include at least two kinds of carbon emission reduction systems.

The authors of the bill, John Kerry, D-Mass, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., shared the outline with industry leaders during a closed-door meeting Wednesday. Details of that meeting were first reported Wednesday afternoon in E&E News PM.

Some of the provisions include:

- The bill will set CO2 emissions limits 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, and 80% below by 2050.

- The initial cap will involve Utilities and electricity generation, beginning in 2012, then other industries and manufacturing will begin a phase-in process starting in 2016.

- The emissions reduction plans will pre-empt EPA regulation under the Clean Air Act, and any individual state limits.

- The bill will include a cap-and-trade system, like the House version, and a cap-and-dividend plan laid out by Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, in the bipartisan Senate CLEAR Act.

The draft outline also includes sections designed to boost domestic production of Natural Gas, Oil, and Nuclear Power.

Kerry says a full draft outline should be ready early next week, but he's still somewhat vague about the release of the draft bill itself, targeting the release for sometime between late next week and during the pending Spring Recess, which ends April 12th.

Source: Reuters

Source: climateprogress.org