House Passes Climate Change Legislation

Eight Republicans joined 211 Democrats in approving legislation to establish a “cap-and-trade” system to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. Forty-four Democrats voted against the bill.

“Today the House has passed the most important energy and environment bill in our nation’s history,” said Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee and one of the bill’s sponsors. “Scientists say that global warming is a dangerous man-made problem. Today we are saying clean energy will be the American-made solution. This legislation will create jobs by the millions, save money by the billions and unleash investment in clean energy by the trillions.”

NLC supported the purposes of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454), which are to “create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy,” but called on the bill’s sponsors to go further in assisting local governments in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the potentially unavoidable effects of climate change.

Specifically, NLC urged House leadership to dedicate a portion of the bill’s anticipated revenues to support the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant and to support energy efficient transportation solutions. Additionally, NLC called on leadership to restore the language from the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s original draft that would create a Climate Change Adaptation Fund to provide federal support for state, local and tribal adaptation projects.

The Senate, meanwhile, has been working on energy reform legislation. Last month, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a comprehensive energy reform bill. The bill will likely see Senate floor action in the fall, when it will be combined with climate change legislation that the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is aiming to mark up this summer. 

The House action gives the Obama Administration a valuable negotiating tool for a United Nations climate change summit this December in Copenhagen. The White House has pushed hard for Congress to pass legislation before the conference, where nations will negotiate a follow-up to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol treaty.