American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)

Carbon Trading's Inconvenient Truth

Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle In the face of unwavering Republican opposition, Californian Rep. Henry Waxman last week successfully guided a mammoth energy and climate bill through the House Energy and Commerce Committee that he chairs. This should be a thrilling moment for environmentalists. Nineteen years after the U.N.'s panel of scientists first reached consensus on the threat posed by global warming, the United States, for long the world's biggest polluter, is finally poised to take action. But unfortunately, the feeling among many climate-change campaigners is more

Missed Opportunity as Climate Bill Moves out of House Committee

Thursday, May 21, 2009
CONTACT: Patrick McCully (International Rivers), +1 510 848 1155 In response to passage of the "American Clean Energy and Security Act" by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a coalition of environmental, legal, consumer, and community advocacy groups released the following joint statement: “While a week of debate failed to adequately strengthen protections for consumers, communities, and the climate in this bill, it erased all doubt of who will benefit most from it: Big Business. Despite the best efforts of Chairman Waxman, the decision-making process was co-opted by oil and coal lobby

It's not Logical, but the EPA Supports Offsets

Fri, 04/24/2009 - 10:55am
Interestingly the EPA's analysis of the Waxman and Markey bill focused on the cap-and-trade program. Perhaps because it is one of the most controversial parts of the draft bill? With the aid of economic-energy models, the EPA finds that the maximum amount of allowable international offsets (1 billion) would be used each year, while only a portion of domestic offsets would be applied. Plugging in EPA's estimates for domestic offsets and 1 billion offsets, we still find that emissions within the United States would not decrease until 2020, eight years after the cap would go into

Coalition Statement Against Offsets in US Climate Bill

Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Honorable Henry WaxmanChair, Committee on Energy and CommerceThe Honorable Edward MarkeyChair, Subcommittee on Energy and EnvironmentDear Chairmen Waxman and Markey,We commend you on the effort you have undertaken in crafting your draft "American Clean Energy & Security Act of 2009." While there is much to applaud in this bill, there are also areas for substantial improvement. While we will be communicating to you separately with respect to other issues, our organizations are concerned in particular about one key element that threatens to undermine its integrity and effectiveness in ad

Offsets in Climate Bill Undermine Clean Energy, Green Jobs

Thursday, April 23, 2009
Environmental Groups Urge Waxman/Markey to Close the Floodgate on Carbon Offsets 350.org, 1 Sky, California Communities Against Toxics, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Church World Service, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Energy Justice Network, Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative, Essential Action, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Friends of the Earth, GAIA, Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Greenpeace, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Indigenous Environmental Network, Institute for Energy & Environmental Research, International

Waxman-Markey Bill: No Cuts until 2026!

Allowable US Emissions under Waxman-Markey
Wed, 04/15/2009 - 9:09am
Allowable US Emissions under Waxman-Markey While there is much to praise about the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the climate section of the draft bill is seriously weakened by its heavy reliance on offsets to substitute for actual emissions cuts by large polluters. Take a look at the initial analysis by International Rivers and Rainforest Action Network of the offsets provisions in the draft bill, or read below for the highlights. The bill eventually caps 85% of all US greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from fossil fuels and industrial processes. But a polluter can

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES)