Jul

2

Coalition for the Green Bank Congratulates House Members for Passage of American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

Filed Under ACES Bill, US Carbon Cap and Trade, US Carbon Market, US Carbon Trading | Comments Off

The Coalition for the Green Bank today congratulates Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Representative Henry A. Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Chris Van Hollen, and Representatives Edward Markey, John D Dingell and Jay Inslee on the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454), an Act that will steer America towards a clean and renewable energy future.

In particular, the Coalition congratulates Representative Van Hollen for his work as the author of the original Green Bank Act proposed in March. Represented in the American Clean Energy and Security Act as the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA), the Green Bank will serve as an essential catalyst for the Read more

Jun

30

Chicago Climate Exchange® Issues Statement on Passage of American Clean Energy and Security Act

Filed Under ACES Act, American Clean Energy and Security Act, Carbon Cap and Trade, Carbon Trading, Chicago Climate Exchange, US Carbon Market | Comments Off

Chairman and Founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange Inc.® Dr. Richard L. Sandor issued the following statement today on House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009:

“The Chicago Climate Exchange appreciates the hard work put in by Chairmen Waxman, Markey, Peterson and others to pass this important legislation. This bill is a great first step for creating green jobs, reducing carbon emissions and securing America’s energy independence. It recognizes the valuable role a market mechanism can play in achieving emissions reduction goals at least cost to consumers. Read more

Jun

29

Green America Recognizes the House Passage of ACES as a First Step, Seeks Strengthened Bill in the Senate

Filed Under ACES Bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act, CO2 Emissions, Carbon Trading, US Cap and Trade | Comments Off

Green America recognizes the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) as an important step forward towards the comprehensive approach needed to reduce climate emissions and increase clean energy usage in the United States.

As the Senate takes up its version of this legislation, Green America, on behalf of its 120,000 individual and 5,000 business members, calls on Senators to build on the work of the House and strengthen the legislation to create accelerated reductions in carbon emissions, a faster phase out of dirty coal plants, and greater funding of clean energy sources. Read more

Jun

29

American Iron and Steel Institute Says Climate Bill as Passed by House Puts Steel Industry at Competitive Disadvantage; Bill Must Have Important Modif

Filed Under ACES Act, American Clean Energy and Security Act, US Carbon Cap and Trade, US Carbon Market, US Carbon Trading | Comments Off

The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) expressed its disappointment today over the House passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

“We believe this bill has moved at a rushed pace that has not allowed for full debate of provisions that are critical to the steel industry, which was clearly underscored by the fact that the bill passed in the House by only seven votes,” said Thomas J. Gibson, AISI president and CEO. “The bill, as passed, will need important modifications as it moves through the Senate.

“We appreciate the hard work of Congressmen Doyle and Inslee and we look forward to continuing our work with them as this legislation moves through the process,” said Gibson. “However, we can say - with certainty - that if this bill is enacted as it presently stands, U.S. steelmakers and our workers will be at a significant competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace. Several modifications must be made to achieve the bill’s stated purpose of avoiding job loss and emission migration to overseas markets.”

One area of the bill that needs to be modified, Gibson said, relates to recognizing the challenges of energy intensive industries.

“With this bill, all forms of energy - coal, natural gas, biomass and electricity - have the potential to suffer a dramatic cost increase due to fuel switching, deployment of waste gas capture/regeneration technology, carbon capture and sequestration technology, and wind, solar and other clean energy technologies. Energy intensive industries should be rebated allowances to recover consequential cost increases resulting from this legislation, and not just emissions costs,” he said.

“Currently, the bill does not contain a meaningful border adjustment mechanism and has a significant lag before any assessment of comparable action by our trading partners is made,” Gibson said. “The legislation would clearly be inadequate to ensure that the new costs placed on steel and other trade-sensitive manufacturers would also be borne by imports,” he said. “As currently written, the border mechanism would be wholly ineffective and would simply lead to the substitution of imported products (from countries with no or far lesser environmental standards) for domestic production - undermining both the environmental objective of the bill and the competitiveness of U.S. products.”

Another area of concern in the House bill, Gibson said, is the arbitrary formula used to lower the emissions allowance schedule to energy-intensive manufacturers below 15 percent after beginning in 2015. This deprives energy-intensive manufacturers of nearly one billion allowances over the life of the program, he said. Energy-intensive manufacturers should receive the same emissions allowance schedule that is applied to every other recipient of emission allowances, he noted.

AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the material of choice. AISI plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. AISI is comprised of 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry. AISI’s member companies represent over 75 percent of both U.S. and North American steel capacity. For more news about steel and its applications, view AISI’s Web site at www.steel.org.

SOURCE American Iron and Steel Institute

Jun

29

New Report: Implementing U.S. Climate Policy Depends on Five Political Precedents

Filed Under American Clean Energy and Security Act, Carbon Trading, US Cap and Trade, US Carbon Market | Comments Off

Today, former domestic policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore and U.S. Climate Task Force (CTF) co-founder Dr. Elaine C. Kamarck unveiled a new report that examines lessons learned from past efforts to legislate on climate change and how those precedents can be applied to help pass an emissions policy in the 111th Congress. According to her expert analysis, these lessons fall into five categories: Read more

Jun

27

Nation’s Mayors Praise Congress for Accelerating Action on Climate Legislation

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The nation’s mayors under the leadership of Conference President Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels praised Members of the U.S. House of Representatives for approving historic energy and climate legislation.

On the Congressional action, Conference President Mayor Nickels stated, “This is a landmark vote that will help cities transform to a clean energy economy. For years, there was debate over the existence of global warming. Then came discussions about what to do about it. Today, we take substantive action. We praise Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Waxman and Chairman Markey and so many other House leaders for their Read more

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