The latest vote in Senator Boxer’s Environment Committee sending a climate change bill that would require a reduction in carbon emissions in the United States to the full Senate might be considered a small legislative achievement in the great scheme of things, perhaps, but in another sense it is a tremendous victory for those of us who have been seeking real action regarding the threat that global warming and global climate change pose to the earth. For the first time in the Bush era, Congress is showing a real willingness to address these concerns, and the results of the 2006 election which swept Democrats into control of Congress is advancing a key element of the progressive agenda.
WASHINGTON – In a landmark effort to tackle global warming, a Senate committee Wednesday approved a sweeping program to slash greenhouse gas emissions through the first half of this century and mandate a low-carbon future for the U.S. economy.
“This is the most far-reaching global warming bill in the world,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, chair of the Environment Committee, who was jubilant and tearful after the 11-8 vote that sends the bill to the Senate floor next year.
The measure still faces significant obstacles in the Senate and the House, and the Bush administration disagrees with some of the bill’s mandates. But the bill’s backers say political and moral momentum are on their side. […]
The measure would establish a cap-and-trade program, administered by two new federal boards, and set emissions limits that get tougher every year after 2012. Utilities and industries would be granted allowances to stay under the cap, and could sell or trade those allowances.
Each year, more of the allowances would be auctioned, with some of the proceeds going to investment in clean technology, and to states such as California, which already have adopted efficiency mandates and emissions controls.
The ambitious goal is to use a combination of market forces and government mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent by 2050. The bill’s backers also say it would accelerate international efforts to enact a global cap-and-trade program.
Is it a perfect bill? Far from it, but getting any bill out of Committee and onto the Senate floor where Senators will be forced to vote for on it in an election year is highly significant. I expect global warming to play an increasingly significant role in the upcoming elections, and this bill will force Republicans and Democrats alike to vote for or against taking action against global warming, an issue of increasing importance for voters. It will limit the ability of industry lobbyists to keep their “bought and paid for” legislators in line, especially among those who face a difficult re-election campaign. The fact that Senator Warner is a co-sponsor also gives it that patina of bi-partisanship so essential to the punditocracy inside the beltway.
But, you say, won’t Bush just veto any legislation to curb carbon emissions that passes Congress next year? Yes, undoubtedly, but doing so in an election year he will seriously damage the political fortunes of all Republican candidates, and especially the Republican presidential nominee. The only fear I have is that the bill sent to Bush becomes so watered down and toothless that it becomes acceptable even to him. That would be the worst possible outcome. Let’s hope that the Democrats stick to their guns on this bill. If they do, after 2008 we will have a Democratic President elected on a platform which includes taking action on climate change, and an opportunity in Congress to get even better, more effective legislation passed that will mandate emission reductions even as it funds critical research on alternative sources of clean energy.