Climate 411

On E2, an environmental coalition asks the White House to step up its support for clean energy and climate legislation.  Here is an excerpt:

“Mr. President, we ask you to urgently convene all stakeholders and lead the effort to craft a comprehensive clean energy and climate policy that will be enacted this year and will move America toward energy independence built on clean American power.” The coalition includes the World Wildlife Fund, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Pew Environment Group and others.

On Grist, Scott Luthcke, a NASA climate scientist, explains how he has spent the last 6 years weighing Greenland. And she has been losing a lot of weight – an average of 183 gigatons, per year, for the last six years – due to ice melt.

Dave Roberts of Grist makes the case for supporting the American Power Act.

“So is it worth doing? Is the bill worth fighting for with the kind of passion that was brought to health care or even the presidential election? I believe the answer to that question is an absolute, unqualified, overwhelming yes. However flawed and inadequate, Kerry’s bill would represent a sea change in American life. It would lend desperately needed momentum to the global fight against climate change. Failure would be a tragedy and passage a huge, vital victory.”

Grist also tackles the pressing issue of how the American Power Act will affect farmers.

“Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency predicted that such a program could provide annual net benefits to farmers as high as $18 billion — an amount that could fundamentally change the way America farms.”

On Green we learn that the United Nations has chosen a new head of the climate secretariat: Christina Figueres of Costa Rica.

Climate Progress highlights new NASA data showing that 2010 has had the hottest January to April temperatures on record. A new NOAA report with similar findings is highlighted here on E2.

Ezra Klein explains the implications of the proposal currently being discussed in the Senate which would limit EPA’s ability to regulate carbon.

“Murkowski’s bill would disagree with the EPA’s finding that carbon is a danger and needs to be regulated.”

1. The American Power Act will help us research and develop innovative renewable energy sources here in America.

• The bill will unleash billions of dollars of private-sector investment in clean energy jobs and projects here in America.  Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric puts it best:  “National policy – including an effective price on carbon and a strong, nationwide clean energy standard – is needed to drive increased investment, which in turn creates new technologies and jobs.”

2. The American Power Act was crafted with the intention of rising above partisan politics. This bill is not about choosing sides or playing favorites, is it about finding real solutions to our climate and energy problems and laying the foundation for an international climate treaty.

• Darren Samuelsohn, a top climate and energy reporter, reiterates why a US vote is necessary to get international talks flowing in his aptly titled article “World waiting for U.S. Congress to Pass Climate Bill”

3. The American Power Act will help America become the world leader in clean energy investment and technology, a title currently held by China.

• According to Information Technology and Innovation Foundation “Asia’s rising “clean technology tigers” – China, Japan, and South Korea – have already passed the United States in the production of virtually all clean energy technologies, and over the next five years, the governments of these nations will out-invest the United States three-to-one in these sectors.”

4. The American Power Act is good for American manufacturers. The balanced energy strategy that includes development of alternative energy such as wind and solar as well as investment in new domestic energy sources will create jobs in clean technology manufacturing.

• The bill includes a $5 billion expansion of the clean energy manufacturing tax credit.

5. The America Power Act will create jobs, at least twice as many as an energy-only bill.

• According to Senator Bingaman’s office, an energy-only bill without a cap on carbon would only create 425,000 new jobs. The Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute estimated that a climate and clean energy bill will create at least three times that many.

6. The American Power Act will cut carbon pollution 17% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

• These targets, on par with those in the House bill, will set us on the path toward reversing the damaging environmental effects of climate change.

7. The American Power Act will cut our dependence on foreign oil and help us break the cycle of sending a billion dollars a day to countries that hate us.

• Included in the bill are significant tax incentives for conversion of trucks to natural gas vehicles.
• There is $7 billion annually earmarked for improving transportation efficiencies and mass transit systems.

8. The American Power Act is good for business. It will create predictability in the market, spurring clean energy investment and job creation.

• The APA sets a hard price collar of $12 to $25 for carbon. The tight $13 range is a vast improvement over the $18 range suggested in the House bill. A smaller range limits wild price fluctuations and leads to higher investor confidence levels.

9. The American Power Act will protect Americans, especially low-income Americans, by ensuring that energy costs stay under control and that revenues collected from utilities under a carbon cap will be rebated to consumers.

• In fact, over 82% of the allowance value will be rebated to consumers or used for public services.

10. The American Power Act will help domestic agriculture and forestry by providing farmers, ranchers and forest owners with opportunities for new revenue streams in the off-set market.

• USDA will have authority over the domestic offset program which will ensure wide-spread participation and that benefits are shared across the industry.

On E2, Ohio Senator Sherrod Browd commented the American Power Act.

“We need an energy policy that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and addresses the serious threat of climate change,” he said. “I applaud Senators Kerry and Lieberman for advancing this issue. Done right, a clean energy bill will also be a jobs bill.”

Gernot Wagner, EDF expert economist, had this to add:

The American Power Act is most definitely also a jobs bill. We are not out of the woods yet and must do everything we can to stimulate demand for investment. That’s where the cap comes in, and clear rules for where to invest. While the economy collapsed, businesses – especially in the energy and manufacturing sectors –held back investments in part because they are waiting for exactly these kinds of clear rules on climate policy. Now is the time to set those rules.

Mother Jones shows how key Senators are engaging in the process to help advance the climate bill. Jeff Bingaman from New Mexico said:

“I appreciate the time and effort that Senators Kerry and Lieberman have put into crafting this discussion draft and will offer them and Majority Leader Reid my constructive comments and suggestions as I review it.”

The Environmental Defense Action Fund is getting out their message on the need for clean energy with a new print and web ad campaign: Pick your Poison.

The message is the ad is clear: Americans have to make a choice.

We can keep polluting our oceans and financing militants and a cartel that is notoriously unfriendly to America…or we can pass a clean energy and climate bill and move toward a clean energy future.

The web version: