Climate bill clears Senate committee
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Staff Report - Published: November 20, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate environment committee voted 11 to 1 last week for a sweeping climate bill that would cut greenhouse gases from power plants and factories by 83 percent by 2050.
More aggressive than a House-passed global warming bill, the Senate measure also calls for a 20 percent reduction by 2020 in emissions that cause climate change, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent and chairman of the panel's Greens Jobs and New Economy Subcomittee, who helped craft the legislation.
"It is insane that we import $350 billion worth of oil a year from foreign countries," Sanders said. "Our challenge is to move toward energy independence and energy efficiency and sustainable energy by substantially reducing greenhouse emissions and, in the process, creating millions of good-paying jobs."
Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer of California and chairman of the environment committee, moved to get the bill approved without the help of any Republican senators on her panel, Sanders said.
The bill will now be merged with legislation being written by other Senate panels. Republicans, have been moving to boycott the climate change bill, and none were on hand to vote on the committee bill.
Under the legislation, funding for renewable energy and energy efficiency programs is significantly increased. Another $1 billion would be provided in the first year, for example, to fund major utility-scale renewable energy projects such as solar thermal, wind, and biomass.
A low-emissions energy plan proposed by Sanders was included in the committee bill. It would provide resources to the U.S. Department of Transportation to map out electric vehicle recharging stations on roads and highways.
States that have been national leaders in energy efficiency, such as Vermont, would be eligible for increased state funding if they continue to be energy efficient, Sander said. Small rural cooperatives and public power customers would receive more consumer assistance to help with their energy bills. Farmers and forest land owners will receive incentives to manage their land in a way that reduces or avoid greenhouse gas emissions.
The measure would create a new program to provide financial assistance to replace old and inefficient wood stoves with newer, cleaner units. Another version of the climate change bill was approved in the House early in the summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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