Kerry-Lieberman Climate Proposal a Disaster for Climate

[defendandprotect]

WASHINGTON— In the midst of what appears to be the worst offshore oil disaster in American history, U.S. Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) will today put forth a draft climate bill that will not solve the problems of global warming and continues pandering to the fossil fuel industry – including expanded offshore oil drilling – that created the problems in the first place.

The proposal, leaked one day before its official release, reflects months of back-room negotiations between the senators, major polluters, and other Washington insiders, and would:

provide only a fraction of the greenhouse gas pollution reductions scientists have said are necessary to avoid catastrophic climate disruption;
ban successful Clean Air Act programs from reducing greenhouse pollution;
ban existing state and local efforts to tackle climate change;
catalyze increased oil and gas drilling – including offshore drilling; and
subsidize dangerous and costly nuclear energy.
In response, Center for Biological Diversity Executive Director Kierán Suckling urged rejection of the proposal unless these problems are addressed. He issued the following statement:

“The climate proposal put forth today by Senators Kerry and Lieberman represents a disaster for our climate and planet. This proposal moves us one baby step forward and at least three giant steps back in any rational effort to address the climate crisis.

“The senators’ proposal would entrench our addiction to fossil fuels by offering incentives for increased oil and gas drilling just days after what appears to be the worst offshore oil disaster in American history. Large domes, small domes, golf balls, garbage, chemical dispersants, fire – none have succeeded in stopping the enormous flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Clearly, there are no 'safeguards' Senators Lieberman and Kerry could put into this bill to make offshore oil safe.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/kerry-lieberman-05-12-2010.html



ALSO NOTE:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/

Gulf Disaster Web Site Launched

Visit our new site to get the latest on the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/index.html


Haven't checked out yet what they are offering as "latest info" on oil spill --

so don't know if it is actually more up to date?

[polichick]

1. Another piece of fake progressive legislation. Shame on Democratic leaders! nt

[ProSense]

2. Senator Kerry doesn't think so

Introducing the American Power Act: on the strategy and substance

but what the hell does he know?

Joe Romm's analysis

[kristopher]

9. Thanks. Romm's summary is excellent. nt

[Mari333]

3. bought and sold , all of them.

[ProSense]

4. Kerry bought and sold?

Ridiculous. Why even bother with a climate change bill, just say it can't be done?

[defendandprotect]

5. We've know about Global Warming and the chemical soup we are creating for 60 years!!

This response is a display of impotence -- created by the oil industry which has

been controlling our government and elected officials for decades.

Kerry is no different --

60 years of silence on Global Warming while the oil industry has spent billions on

PR and propaganda lying to and misinforming the public about Global Warming.

It can be done, it could have been done -- but this isn't it --

[ProSense]

8. Oh please

"This response is a display of impotence -- created by the oil industry which has

been controlling our government and elected officials for decades.

Kerry is no different --

60 years of silence on Global Warming while the oil industry has spent billions on

PR and propaganda lying to and misinforming the public about Global Warming.

It can be done, it could have been done -- but this isn't it -- "

Brilliant: We're doomed, and no one in Congress is worth a damn so why bother with a climate bill?

Kerry has been working on environmental issues and legislation for decades, he has more credibility on the issue than most.

There is a saying: If you don't believe something can be done, get out of the way of the people working to get it done.

[defendandprotect]

10. Right . . . toxic sludge is good for you and "oil rigs these days don't leak" . . .!!!

We're had 60 years to do something about Global Warming and we're still waiting --

Even the Scientists Warnings are met with silence --

It will take a total culture change --

This isn't it --

and certainly any license for new oil drilling is crime -- not remedy.

I would believe until the final moments that we should try to respond to the

emergency of Global Warming. As I made clear, what Kerry is doing isn't response . . .

it is more placation for the oil industry.


Where are the electric cars, where is the investment in alternate energy?

Nothing is happening now and nothing has been happening --

And it is the oil industry which has bought this impotence -- and the elected officials

they've pre-BRIBED and pre-OWNED are delivering it.



Oh please
Posted by ProSense
"This response is a display of impotence -- created by the oil industry which has

been controlling our government and elected officials for decades.

Kerry is no different --

60 years of silence on Global Warming while the oil industry has spent billions on

PR and propaganda lying to and misinforming the public about Global Warming.

It can be done, it could have been done -- but this isn't it -- "

If Kerry had in any way been effective re environment over these decades he's served

we wouldn't have this emergency in the Gulf -- and we wouldn't have the oil industry

running our government.

Kerry was the bottom of the heap when he ran for president -- .03% favor in the primary!

Suddenly, he was the candidate of choice -- leadership given to us by TPB.

[amborin]

6. K&R Public Citizen calls it the "oil-drilling championing" gift to polluters

Climate Bill Is a Misnomer: It’s a Nuclear Energy-Promoting, Oil Drilling-Championing, Coal Mining-Boosting Gift to Polluters
Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program

WASHINGTON - May 12 - After half a year of delay, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are set to release their nuclear energy/cap-and-trade bill today. Until we see legislative text, we can comment only on the broad outline made available yesterday and an additional summary being circulated among legislative staff.

It's not accurate to call this a climate bill. This is nuclear energy-promoting, oil drilling-championing, coal mining-boosting legislation with a weak carbon-pricing mechanism thrown in. What's worse, it guts the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) current authority to regulate greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

Here's our take on what we know is in the new bill:

Nuclear Power Incentives

At its core, this legislation is all about promoting nuclear power and handing taxpayers the bill. Consider: - Sections 1101 and 1105 would prioritize the needs of nuclear power corporations over the rights of citizens to have full, public hearings about the risks and dangers of locating nuclear power plants in their communities. - Section 1102 increases loan guarantees primarily for nuclear power to a jaw-dropping $54 billion. These loans are a terrible deal for the taxpayer, especially considering the high risk of default that even the government acknowledges. - Section 1103 provides $6 billion in taxpayer-subsidized risk insurance for 12 new nuclear reactors. - Section 1121 allows nuclear power plant owners to write off their depreciation much faster. Section 1121 provides a 10 percent investment tax credit for new reactors. - Section 1123 extends the Advanced Energy Project credit to nuclear reactors. - Section 1124-6 allows municipal power agencies to derive certain tax, bond and grant benefits from investing in nuclear power.

Oil

Apparently oblivious to the ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the legislation expands offshore drilling. In fact, all new offshore drilling, leasing and permitting should be halted.

Section 1202 allows states to keep 37.5 percent of oil and gas royalty money. That's like saying because more rich people live in California and New York compared to Mississippi and New Mexico, those higher-income states should be able to keep more federal dollars raised from income taxes. Royalty revenue sharing is patently unfair - especially because the disaster in Gulf shows that an oil spill does not respect state boundaries.

Coal

Section 1412 establishes a carbon tax paid by ratepayers and collected by utilities to fund carbon capture and storage (CCS) - with no money allocated to rooftop solar or energy efficiency investments. Section 1431 will provide valuable emissions allowances for free to coal utilities pursuing CCS - an untested, risky strategy that benefits the coal industry and is gobbling up a lion's share of subsidies that otherwise could go to renewable energy development.

Merchant coal power plants (whose rates are not regulated) will get roughly 5 percent of the free allowances, which will provide opportunities for them to gouge consumers.

And while the nuclear and coal industries will receive a lot of taxpayer money and loan guarantees, Section 1604 states that "voluntary" renewable energy markets are "efficient and effective programs" and states that "the policy of the United States is to continue to support the growth of these markets." This is backward: Renewable energy should be getting the guarantees, rather than the coal and nuclear industries.

Offsets

The legislation allows entities to "reduce" their domestic greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing offsets from projects located in the U.S. and around the world. The recent offset crisis in Europe, where the offset market collapsed due to fraud, underscores the lack of accountability and transparency with offsets.

Consumer Protections Rather than follow President Barack Obama's cap-and-dividend plan, which would have required polluters to pay and would have distributed 80 percent of the money directly to families through the Making Work Pay tax credit, or the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR Act, which calls for distributing monthly checks to households, the Kerry-Lieberman approach relies on distributing valuable free allowances to utilities from 2013-2029, then requiring that utilities use the money "exclusively for the benefit of the ratepayers." But Congress won't be defining "benefit"; rather, 50 different state utility commissions will. Some will do a great job, but most will allow utilities to structure expensive energy efficiency programs that benefit shareholders more than ratepayers.

Wall Street

It appears that Wall Street may not have gotten everything it wanted - yet. The legislation appears to incorporate elements of S.1399, sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), which creates an Office of Carbon Market Oversight at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), giving the agency authority to regulate spot and futures emission markets. It requires all entities seeking to trade emissions derivatives to register and be approved by the CFTC, and all transactions must be cleared through a CFTC-regulated Carbon Clearing Organization. This is a good start to ensure that Wall Street plays no role in gambling on climate policy.

Danger remains, however, in creating carbon trading markets open to non-energy producers. Strong regulations in place today may be easily subverted tomorrow, leaving Wall Street positioned to control our climate future.

Conclusion

The Kerry-Lieberman bill represents a missed opportunity. By meeting behind closed doors, the lawmakers empowered corporate polluters to play an oversized role in influencing the legislation to the detriment of the climate and consumers. President Obama had it right when he successfully campaigned on a theme of making polluters pay and delivering benefits directly to households.

We need a bill that does not incentivize failed and dangerous technologies like nuclear power and does not enrich utilities at the expense of consumers.

[ProSense]

7. They weren't thrilled with Waxman-Markey either. The bill passed in the House.

I expect the same groups who opposed the House bill to oppose the Senate bill, which will have a strong coalition of supporters.

There will be the environmental groups that will work to strengthen the bill and those that will oppose it no matter what.