Making climate change history

Passing the US climate change bill would go down in history as America's first significant step toward curbing carbon emissions

Kate Sheppard
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 25 June 2009 19.00 BST

The US House of Representatives is set to vote on a comprehensive climate and energy bill on Friday, a move likely to go down in history as America's first significant step toward curbing planet-warming emissions.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act – the bill's official title – would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020, and more than 80% by 2050. It would put in place a renewable electricity standard requiring utilities to draw 20% of their power from renewables by 2020. It would also raise efficiency standards for buildings and appliances, and invest $190bn in energy-saving technology by 2025.
That said, the bill is not as tough as most environmentalists would like, or that science dictates is necessary. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said near-term reductions for developed countries need to be in the range of 25%-40% below 1990 levels to avert serious impacts. The US would cut emissions just 4% below 1990 levels under this bill. It allows for a significant portion of emissions reductions to be met by offsets rather than direct reductions, and a large portion of the pollution permits would be given to industry free of charge.
The bill also exempts older coal-fired power plants for a number of years, even though these are the biggest contributor to US emissions, and takes away the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to regulate CO2 emissions from those plants. It also gives coal companies $60bn to invest in technology to capture carbon dioxide emissions.
Yet the bill is widely viewed as a good start in addressing climate change after years of federal government neglect. It's a bill that can potentially meet the needs of a Congress that often finds political and regional differences hard to overcome in crafting legislation, and is the result of weeks of compromise between its authors – Democrats Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts – and members who represent agricultural, industrial, coal and oil-producing states.
The fragile compromise that the authors have struck to get this bill through the House represents the first real opportunity for US action with the potential to pass in both chambers. This would be an historic accomplishment. The House has never before voted on a climate bill, while the Senate has rejected every previous attempt.
The bill also has the support of President Barack Obama, who has called it "historic legislation that will transform the way we produce and use energy in America". Obama's backing, and strong-arming of apprehensive Democrats by his administration, creates potential for action that has never before existed in Washington politics.
House leaders are still whipping votes as Friday's deadline for passage approaches. But advocates of climate action are gearing up to celebrate a major landmark.