EPA: Climate Bill Costs Less Than Postage Stamp

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EPA: Climate bill costs less than postage stamp

By MATTHEW DALY (AP)

WASHINGTON — A climate and energy bill being pushed in the Senate would cost American households 22 to 40 cents a day — less than the cost of a first-class postage stamp, the Obama administration said Tuesday.

An analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that the Senate bill, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., would cost households an average of $79 to $146 per year. A first-class postage stamp costs 44 cents.

The bill, dubbed the American Power Act, aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 17 percent by 2020 and by more than 80 percent by 2050. Both goals are achievable under the legislation, the EPA said.

The bill would for the first time set a price on carbon emissions produced by coal-fired power plants and other large polluters. Carbon prices would range from about to $16 to $17 per metric ton in 2013 to about $23 or $24 per ton in 2020, the EPA said.

The EPA analysis comes as President Barack Obama prepared an Oval Office speech Tuesday night on efforts to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama was expected to press for action on the sweeping climate legislation, which is intended to curtail pollution blamed for global warming and reduce oil imports.

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