Getting onto Carbon Emissions - the United States

The United States House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday last week intended to address global warming and transform the way the US produces and uses energy. It's the first time that either House of the US Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases which have been linked to climate change by a plethora of scientists and institutions worldwide. As the New York Times reports, the legislation could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

Of note, the bill passed by a vote of 219 to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against it, and only eight Republicans voting for the bill. It remains concerning that the margin of the vote in favour was so small on such a critical issue. Nonetheless it will assist the United States when international negotiations on a new climate change treaty begin at the end of this year in Copenhagen.

The critical feature of the legislation is a cap-and-trade system which sets a limit on overall emissions of heat-trapping gases and allows utilities, manufacturers and other emitters to trade pollution permits, or allowances, among themselves. The cap would grow tighter over the years, pushing up the price of emissions and presumably driving industry to find cleaner ways of making energy. This is a standard approach in carbon emission trading schemes although it is often a contentious method if the timeline for emission reduction is too long.

As difficult as House passage proved, as the New York Times comments, it's just the beginning of the energy and climate debate in Congress. The issue now moves to the Senate, where political divisions and regional differences are even more stark.

The legislation is a patchwork of compromises and does fall far short of what many European governments and environmentalists have said is needed is essential to avert the worst effects of global warming which is steadily bearing down on the planet. While some environmentalists enthusiastically supported the legislation, others, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, opposed it. The US response is indeed weaker than the direction taken by the European Union. The bill has a number of key components nonetheless-

• A goal of reducing greenhouse gases in the United States to 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by midcentury.


• Sets a national standard of 20 percent for the production of renewable electricity by 2020, although a third of that could be met with efficiency measures rather than renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal power.


• Devotes billions of dollars to new energy projects and subsidies for low-carbon agricultural practices, research on cleaner coal and electric vehicle development.

Overall however this is a good step forward by the United States and one which will enable greater leverage for American negotiators in Copenhagen. It also sends a message to China, India and Russia that the US is finally moving on this issue which should provide a greater incentive for those countries not to delay taking action as well.