Statement of Nathan Willcox, PennEnvironment Energy & Clean Air Advocate
Today, the U.S. Senate's Subcommittee on the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection (a subcommittee of the Environment and Public Works Committee) voted 4-3 in favor of moving the Lieberman-Warner global warming legislation to the full committee. While PennEnvironment applauds Senators Lieberman and Warner for introducing this historic legislation, it was also disappointing to see both senators vote against strengthening amendments that were offered prior to the final vote. We also applaud Senators Sanders and Lautenberg for their tireless efforts to improve the legislation.
Time is running out to stop the worst effects of global warming, which for Pennsylvania could include everything from more heat-related deaths and more severe flooding, to more unhealthy air days and the loss of native plant and animal species. Only bold and decisive action will protect our environment, economy, and future generations of Americans. While this bill is an important starting point for action, it needs to be strengthened to meet the challenge of global warming.
As currently crafted, the bill has these three main problems. These problems, which are outlined below, would be addressed by the amendments offered today by Senator Sanders.
1) The bill must achieve faster and deeper cuts in pollution, consistent with what the science demands. According to a preliminary analysis by the World Resources Institute, the pollution caps in the bill would reduce total U.S. global warming emissions by 13% below 2005 levels by 2020 and by 45% below 2005 levels by 2050. These reduction levels are far short of the reductions the science indicates are needed (at least 80% reductions by 2050) to prevent the worst effects of global warming. One change to the bill secured by Senator Lautenberg – adding emissions from burning natural gas – will achieve additional mandatory reductions, but that specific requirement has not yet been spelled out. Additional reductions may be achieved through other policies in the bill, but those reductions are difficult to quantify and are not guaranteed.
2) Flexibility mechanisms in the bill must be tightened to prevent undermining the goals of the bill. The bill currently allows companies to exceed their pollution limits by paying sources not covered by the program to reduce emissions. Ensuring that a ton of pollution from such “offsets” equals a ton of real reductions is a major challenge. In addition, offsets delay the transition to cleaner technology that will be needed to achieve deep future cuts in emissions. Under the bill, a company could theoretically meet nearly its entire 2020 pollution-reduction requirement through offsets.
3) Polluters must be required to pay for every ton of pollution they put into the atmosphere. The bill currently gives hundreds of billions of dollars in the form of emission allowances to polluters for free, which will create windfall profits, as have occurred in Europe, and take vital resources away from easing America’s transition to a clean energy future. These profits come directly from the pocketbooks of consumers. Under this bill, just under half of the pollution permits would initially be given to polluters for free, and it will take 25 years (until 2036) before we stop handing cash to polluters. More than 100 organizations and individuals, including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, the Consumer Federation of America, MoveOn.org, OXFAM, and PennEnvironment, recently released a statement calling for all allowances to be auctioned in a cap-and-trade system.
We look forward to working with the full committee to strengthen the bill.
