Sen Cantwell: CO2 Bill May Stir Senate Climate Debate
Dow Jones &
> Company, Inc. - Dec 11
>
> U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, (D., Wash.) Friday unveiled an
> alternate climate bill that would auction all emission credits to fund
> consumer rebates and limit the auction market to polluters.
>
> The proposal, offered as an alternative to the bill passed in the
> House of Representatives and by the Senate environment committee, has
> already garnered support from two unlikely allies and promises to stir
> debate on the controversial policy.
>
> While its fate is uncertain, the proposal may erode efforts to
> pass the existing climate legislation by attracting support from some
> lawmakers.
> Sen. Susan Collins, (R., Maine) has signed up as a co-sponsor. Sen.
> Lisa
> Murkowski, ( R., Alaska) welcomed the legislation, saying, "it should
> certainly be one of the approaches we spend time considering in the
> coming months."
>
> The conventional approach in Congress so far has been to set an
> emissions cap and distribute billions of dollars worth of emission
> credits to affected industries--a political effort to win reluctant
> lawmaker backing. Those industries are expected to then pass the
> credit value on to consumers, ostensibly protecting them from higher
> energy prices as new, more expensive but lower-emission technology is
> built.
>
> "This is a much simpler process," Cantwell said in an interview.
> "The system of who gets what can obviously be influenced," she said.
> Her legislation would provide investors with a more "predictable
> mechanism" for clean energy expansion while cutting greenhouse gas
> emissions, she said.
>
> Only 2,000-3,000 of the nation's largest emitters would be able
> to buy and sell emission credits auctioned by the government, with
> credit values rising as mandated greenhouse gas levels fall.
> Seventy-five percent of auction revenues would be recycled into
> monthly tax-free checks to the public to help pay for rising energy
> costs. She estimates between
> 2012 and
> 2030, for the average family, those checks could average $1,100 a year
> for a total of around $21,000 for the period.
>
> The remaining revenues would be funneled into a clean energy fund
> to finance low-carbon technologies.
>
> President Barack Obama had originally proposed auctioning all the
> emission credits, a policy his budget office said could raise $650
> billion over a decade at a conservative estimate for emission credits.
> In the House, the chairman of the energy committee, Rep. Henry Waxman,
> (D., Calif.), also wanted to auction off all the credits but had to
> agree to distribute emission credits for free in the face of political
> reality. Without the so-called allocation scheme, Waxman wouldn't have
> been able to pass the bill.
>
> Cantwell's proposal partly stems from the fear that allowing
> financial participants into the emissions derivatives market would
> open the floodgates for market manipulation that could have a harmful
> impact on the economy.
> Their concerns were compounded by last year's record oil price spike,
> as well by the meltdown in the credit derivatives market that helped
> trigger the current economic crisis.
>
> The financial community, however, says blocking what some predict
> could be a multi-trillion-dollar futures market would stunt the
> financial services necessary for cultivating a clean-energy economy.
> For example, if utilities weren't able to trade in the emission credit
> futures markets, they may not be able to find financing for new,
> expensive carbon dioxide sequestration technology.
>
> Pressed on how her proposal could gain traction in the face of
> Congressional politics, Cantwell said she's counting on the simplicity
> of the structure and public payments to rally backing.
>
> "Public Citizen supports the Cantwell-Collins legislation as a
> needed fresh start to address climate change," said Tyson Slocum,
> director of advocacy group's Energy Program. "Solving climate change
> is simply too important to entrust to traders at Goldman Sachs and
> J.P. Morgan Chase," he said.
>
> -By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862 9285;
> [email protected];
>
>
> Company, Inc. - Dec 11
>
> U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, (D., Wash.) Friday unveiled an
> alternate climate bill that would auction all emission credits to fund
> consumer rebates and limit the auction market to polluters.
>
> The proposal, offered as an alternative to the bill passed in the
> House of Representatives and by the Senate environment committee, has
> already garnered support from two unlikely allies and promises to stir
> debate on the controversial policy.
>
> While its fate is uncertain, the proposal may erode efforts to
> pass the existing climate legislation by attracting support from some
> lawmakers.
> Sen. Susan Collins, (R., Maine) has signed up as a co-sponsor. Sen.
> Lisa
> Murkowski, ( R., Alaska) welcomed the legislation, saying, "it should
> certainly be one of the approaches we spend time considering in the
> coming months."
>
> The conventional approach in Congress so far has been to set an
> emissions cap and distribute billions of dollars worth of emission
> credits to affected industries--a political effort to win reluctant
> lawmaker backing. Those industries are expected to then pass the
> credit value on to consumers, ostensibly protecting them from higher
> energy prices as new, more expensive but lower-emission technology is
> built.
>
> "This is a much simpler process," Cantwell said in an interview.
> "The system of who gets what can obviously be influenced," she said.
> Her legislation would provide investors with a more "predictable
> mechanism" for clean energy expansion while cutting greenhouse gas
> emissions, she said.
>
> Only 2,000-3,000 of the nation's largest emitters would be able
> to buy and sell emission credits auctioned by the government, with
> credit values rising as mandated greenhouse gas levels fall.
> Seventy-five percent of auction revenues would be recycled into
> monthly tax-free checks to the public to help pay for rising energy
> costs. She estimates between
> 2012 and
> 2030, for the average family, those checks could average $1,100 a year
> for a total of around $21,000 for the period.
>
> The remaining revenues would be funneled into a clean energy fund
> to finance low-carbon technologies.
>
> President Barack Obama had originally proposed auctioning all the
> emission credits, a policy his budget office said could raise $650
> billion over a decade at a conservative estimate for emission credits.
> In the House, the chairman of the energy committee, Rep. Henry Waxman,
> (D., Calif.), also wanted to auction off all the credits but had to
> agree to distribute emission credits for free in the face of political
> reality. Without the so-called allocation scheme, Waxman wouldn't have
> been able to pass the bill.
>
> Cantwell's proposal partly stems from the fear that allowing
> financial participants into the emissions derivatives market would
> open the floodgates for market manipulation that could have a harmful
> impact on the economy.
> Their concerns were compounded by last year's record oil price spike,
> as well by the meltdown in the credit derivatives market that helped
> trigger the current economic crisis.
>
> The financial community, however, says blocking what some predict
> could be a multi-trillion-dollar futures market would stunt the
> financial services necessary for cultivating a clean-energy economy.
> For example, if utilities weren't able to trade in the emission credit
> futures markets, they may not be able to find financing for new,
> expensive carbon dioxide sequestration technology.
>
> Pressed on how her proposal could gain traction in the face of
> Congressional politics, Cantwell said she's counting on the simplicity
> of the structure and public payments to rally backing.
>
> "Public Citizen supports the Cantwell-Collins legislation as a
> needed fresh start to address climate change," said Tyson Slocum,
> director of advocacy group's Energy Program. "Solving climate change
> is simply too important to entrust to traders at Goldman Sachs and
> J.P. Morgan Chase," he said.
>
> -By Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; (202) 862 9285;
> [email protected];
>
>