Media release - June 5, 2008
WASHINGTON—"Monday, the Senate began the first major debate about how our federal government should respond to global warming. Yesterday, a far stronger plan to fight the problem—The Investing in Climate Action and Protection Act—was introduced in the House. Perhaps for the first time, it is possible to imagine Congress passing legislation capable of addressing the full magnitude of the climate crisis, which is why it is more important than ever to make sure we get it right.
"The Investing in Climate Action
and Protection Act elevates the debate about global warming beyond
the political compromises found in Lieberman-Warner, and toward
science-based solutions that are effective and fair. For example,
the most important measure of cap and trade legislation is its
ability to meet global warming pollution reductions in line with
the most recent scientific recommendations. The iCAP 2050 target
would hit this important mark by reducing emissions by at least 80
percent below 1990 levels by 2050. However, it falls short of a
critical short-term target of reducing emissions by at least 25
percent below 1990 levels by 2020. We encourage the House to
strengthen the 2020 goal to ensure that we are on a path to avoid
the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.
"Additionally, the bill sets the
national cap-and-trade system on a path toward auctioning off 100
percent of pollution credits by 2020. It also proposes diverting
over half of the profits gained by the trading system to low and
middle income Americans to offset increases in energy costs.
Additional money will be used to help transition America toward a
clean energy economy by investing in renewable energy sources and
cost-saving efficiency improvements. These measures are all
critical improvements over the Climate Security Act being
considered in the Senate.
"Still more improvements are
necessary. Unfortunately, iCAP would provide taxpayer assistance to
expensive and unproven carbon capture and sequestration (CCS)
schemes. We believe any allocation of public funds away from proven
clean and safe technologies, like wind and solar, is a distraction
from long-term energy solutions. We are encouraged to see that the
bill would phase the subsidies out by 2020 but we believe they
should be phased out sooner: in 2008.
"This bill is the strongest
national proposal to take action on global warming to date. The
world's leading scientists believe we have a small window to take
meaningful climate action. This bill gets us closer to taking that
action and we look forward to working with these committed parties
to help make sure we get America's global warming legislation right
the first time."
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CONTACT: Mike Crocker, Greenpeace
Media Officer in the U.S., 202-319-2471; Kate Smolski, Greenpeace
Legislative Coordinator, 202-415-3105