WRI analyzes emissions caps, allowances, offsets, and other critical components of the American Clean Energy and Security Act.
What are the key elements of the climate bill approved by the House of Representatives on June 26?
The bill contains four major elements:
A clean
energy requirement,
designed both to set new standards for current types of power generation and to accelerate development and deployment of clean energy technologies such as renewables, energy efficiency and carbon capture and storage.
An efficiency requirement that provides funding for energy efficiency programs, and the setting of stronger building codes and product efficiency standards.
A cap and trade program that sets mandatory caps on 87 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions including the electric power and oil and gas sectors, and heavy industry.
Measures designed to ease the transition into a low carbon economy by providing assistance to those impacted by a cap - including industry, affected sectors of America’s workforce, and low income households; these also include support for international climate change programs.
What emission reductions would be achieved if this bill was implemented?
Implementation of the cap would reduce emissions from covered sources to 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. Total U.S. GHG emissions would be reduced, as a result, by 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. This exceeds President Obama’s goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (approximately 14% below 2005 levels). In addition, implementing the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA) would result in emissions reductions beyond those generated by the pollution cap.
The bill contains substantial complementary requirements, including emissions performance standards for uncapped sources and emission reductions from
forest preservation in developing countries. When these are taken into account, GHG emissions could be reduced by 28 perc ...
Try our segmented RSS Feeds
