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Key US Senators Reach Deal on CO2 Emissions    [

    US House Passes Bill Affirming Global Warming Exists
    By Richard Cowen
    Reuters

    Thursday 28 June 2007

    Washington - The House of Representatives Wednesday, aiming to put an end to the debate over whether global warming is actually occurring, passed legislation recognizing the "reality" of climate change and providing money to work on the problem.

    By a vote of 272-155, the House approved an environmental funding bill for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 that would increase federal investments in basic research on climate change and establish a new commission to review scientific questions that need to be addressed.

    The White House has threatened a veto of the $27.6 billion bill because its overall spending would exceed President Bush's request by about $2 billion. The Senate has not yet debated the bill.

    The bill also would require oil companies to renegotiate faulty drilling contracts issued by the government in 1998 and 1999 that have allowed them to avoid paying billions in royalties, or be barred from receiving any new leases to drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

    The White House "strongly opposes" the provision, saying it could produce legal challenges that might delay future lease sales and would set a bad precedent coming nearly a decade after the government signed the contracts.

    By inserting a declaration in the bill that climate change is a "reality," the Democratic-controlled House was trying to move U.S. policy-makers beyond a debate, long stimulated by the Bush administration, over whether there was scientific proof that global warming really is occurring.

    A leading promoter of that debate has been Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, who has referred to global warming as a "hoax." He chaired the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee until Republicans lost control of Congress this year.

    Many scientists worry global warming will produce a series of environmental catastrophes, from more violent storms and the collapse of many species, to worsening food shortages and diseases in some regions.

    The climate change commission envisioned by the House bill would make its first recommendations by July 1, 2008 and the panel's work would end in 2009.

    A White House statement said the Bush administration was committed to addressing "the important issue of climate change," but that the commission would duplicate government efforts already under way.

    Environmental groups have lambasted the Bush administration on global warming, saying it has slowed international progress on controlling emissions thought to cause the buildup of greenhouse gases.

    The House-passed bill also would beef up funding for the Environmental Protection Agency by giving the agency over $8 billion next year, $887 million more than Bush sought, mainly for water cleanup and clean air programs.

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    Key US Senators Reach Deal on CO2 Emissions
    By Chris Baltimore
    Reuters

    Wednesday 27 June 2007

    Washington - A U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday began drawing up a sweeping law that would put mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions after a key Republican endorsed the idea.

    Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat and chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee, wants Congress to pass legislation that would for the first time place caps on emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, cars and factories.

    Those efforts moved forward after Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican and one of the most senior committee members, agreed to work with Democrats "to craft a comprehensive climate bill." The United States is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.

    Boxer called the accord "a groundbreaking moment," saying Warner was the first Republican on her committee to back the idea of economy-wide reductions.

    "This will be the first time that any committee or subcommittee of Congress has attempted to pass comprehensive climate change legislation," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

    A "cap-and-trade" approach - backed by Warner and Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, would set industry-specific reduction targets and require those that exceed them to buy permits to pollute.

    Coal-burning power plants emit the most U.S. carbon dioxide, about 40 percent of the total, and cars emit about a third of the total.

    Boxer said her committee could vote on the plan - which was still under negotiation - after Congress returns from its August recess, and the full Senate could vote on it this year.

    Boxer's efforts jibe with those of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wants to halve U.S. emissions by 2050 through a cap-and-trade system.

    Rep. John Dingell, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a key climate-change negotiator, said on Wednesday the issue would be addressed in "comprehensive climate change legislation" the House will weigh in the fall.

    Stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions at a safe level will require a reduction of between 60 percent and 80 percent by 2050, Dingell said.

    Dingell's views are key because he is a long-time ally of Detroit automobile makers, who have resisted attempts in California and other states to regulate vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide.

    In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that the Environmental Protection Administration has the authority under the federal Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles.

    President George W. Bush opposes mandatory limits on emissions, saying they would harm the economy. Instead, Bush has set a goal of reducing the intensity of emissions - as measured against economic growth - by 18 percent by 2012.