|
Climate bill’s chances seem improved |
|
By Jim Snyder
|
|
Posted: 06/28/07 07:28 PM [ET] |
Advocates of global warming legislation celebrated two announcements yesterday that together make the prospects of a national cap on greenhouse gas emissions seem a whole lot sunnier.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.), accused of slow-walking a climate change bill, pledged instead to release an aggressive bill this fall that would require steep emissions reductions in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by 2050.
Dingell made his stunning statement during markup of an energy bill that critics panned for failing to address global warming. The chairman said he needed more time to build consensus to move a broader climate bill.
But Dingell said the legislation could call for as much as an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, a high-water mark for environmentalists.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, John Warner (R-Va.) pledged to write a bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions. The venerable Virginian said he would work with Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) to write a “cap and trade” bill that would require reductions from all sectors of the economy.
Lieberman is the chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) subcommittee on private sector and consumer solutions to global warming and wildlife protection. Warner is ranking member on the panel.
The announcement likely gives Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) the
Republican vote she needed to move a bill out of the committee.
Supporters of a climate change bill have counted Sen. Max Baucus (D), from coal-rich Montana and up for reelection, as a “no” vote. That meant Boxer would have to find a Republican to vote yes to move a climate bill.
Warner had announced his support for a national cap in April. But he had not endorsed any specific measure, even though several bills have been introduced. Warner and Lieberman said their efforts would draw on those other drafts and also incorporate suggestions from the private sector.
The announcement appears to pave the way for the EPW Committee to earn the distinction as the first congressional panel to move a climate change bill.
“It’s huge,” Manik Roy, director of congressional affairs for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, said of Warner’s announcement.
|
