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March 2, 2010, 4:57 pm
By
Ben Geman
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) on Tuesday continued his push for Senate action on a package of energy measures that omits greenhouse gas limits, appearing unmoved by plans to overhaul climate legislation. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) -- who are trying to draft a compromise climate bill -- are moving away from the sweeping cap-and-trade plan that has failed to gain traction in the Senate.
But Dorgan, who opposes cap-and-trade, isn't biting, at least not for the moment. He wants the Senate to take up a package of energy measures that the Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved in June.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 4:35 pm
By
Jim Snyder
Climate czar Carol Browner said the administration continued to support an “economy-wide program” for climate legislation, but added she was “encouraged” by ongoing discussions on Capitol Hill that appear to chart a different course for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
In an effort to write climate legislation that can attract the support of centrists, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) are expected to abandon a far-reaching "cap and trade" program in favor of a more targeted market mechanism limited at first to electric utilities.
Oil companies, which would be forced to participate in cap-and-trade system set up under climate legislation pushed by the administration, would instead face a levy or a fee on their products in the measure Kerry, Graham and Lieberman are crafting.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 2:53 pm
By
Ben Geman
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) on Tuesday praised plans that would abandon a sweeping “economy-wide” cap-and-trade program.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 2:16 pm
By
Ben Geman
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said Tuesday that his legislation to temporarily block planned EPA climate change rules will be introduced this week.
Rockefeller, an ally of coal producers, told reporters in the Capitol that his measure would prevent EPA rules that regulate greenhouse gas emissions from industrial facilities for two years.
Rockefeller has said that his plan will provide the Senate time to craft a comprehensive climate change and energy bill. EPA recently assured Rockefeller and other coal state lawmakers that it will proceed slowly with rules limiting emissions from sources such as coal plants and factories, but Rockefeller wants an even longer pause -- and wants it codified.
Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 12:10 pm
By
Ben Geman
The main trade group for auto dealers is backing Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) plan to thwart upcoming EPA climate change rules and attacking White House claims that her measure would harm struggling automakers.
In a letter to Murkowski on Monday, the National Automobile Dealers Association supports her resolution – which may come to the floor this month – to prevent EPA from issuing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, cars, factories and other sources.
Murkowski is fearful about the economic effects of regulating stationary sources. But her plan would also prevent EPA’s greenhouse gas standards for automobiles, which the agency plans to soon finalize in a joint package with stricter Transportation Department (DOT) mileage standards.
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E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 11:06 am
By
Ben Geman
The Energy Department on Tuesday said it’s inviting proposals to share $100 million available for cutting-edge research into energy storage and other technologies. But the solicitation comes with a caveat: Big thinkers only. The money will come from DoE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy, a program aimed at supporting high-risk, high-reward research that began funding projects last year. ARPA-E is modeled off the military’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA.
DoE kicked off the inaugural ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Maryland this week, which is aimed at bringing together scientists, venture capitalists, big companies and others.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 7:59 am
By
Jim Snyder and Ben Geman
A
last-ditch effort to expand support for climate legislation risks undermining the coalition that pushed the bill as far as it
has gotten, energy lobbyists said Monday.
There appears to be
little appetite in the Senate for a House-passed bill that would set up
an economy-wide “cap-and-trade" approach. But it isn’t clear that a new
approach will significantly change the political dynamics, and it could
weaken support among electric utilities and some environmental groups
for the bill.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 2, 2010, 7:31 am
By
Ben Geman
President Obama will use a visit to Savannah Technical College in Georgia Tuesday to press a plan dubbed “HOMESTAR” that would provide quick consumer rebates for home efficiency investments.
The White House says the plan would be akin to last year’s popular “Cash for Clunkers” program that provided up to thousands of dollars for swapping guzzlers for more efficient cars.
The administration is selling this plan with the same pitch as most of its other energy initiatives: as a jobs program that helps meet energy goals like slowing oil use.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 1, 2010, 7:23 pm
By
Ben Geman
Senators trying to salvage a climate bill hope to put plenty of distance between themselves and cap-and-trade.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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March 1, 2010, 3:43 pm
By
Ben Geman
Senior House Republicans including Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) plan to roll out a resolution Tuesday that would nullify EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Their plan mirrors a Senate effort led by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) – which may come to the floor this month – to overturn EPA’s “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases are a threat to humans.
The finding provides the legal underpinning for planned EPA rules that limit emissions from various industry sectors.
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Archived under:
E2-Wire
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