Bingaman global warming bill has bipartisan support

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced today bipartisan legislation his office says is “designed to stop the advancement of global warming while protecting the U.S. economy and American consumers.”

The measure, which is cosponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Penn., Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is an economy-wide mandatory cap-and-trade program that limits the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted, according to a Bingaman news release.

The bill would set an annual target on the amount of carbon that can be released into the atmosphere. It would allow firms to buy, sell and trade carbon credits and would provide incentives to promote a gradual transition to new, lower-carbon technologies.

“There is a great desire in our country to address the global warming crisis,” said Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I believe our legislation represents a strong and balanced approach. It will dramatically reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions while also spurring new energy technologies, protecting the American economy and engaging developing nations in their efforts to address climate change.”

Bingaman’s “Low Carbon Economy Act” would require that petroleum refineries, natural gas processing plants, fossil fuel importers and large coal-consuming facilities reach 2006 emissions levels by 2020 and 1990 levels by 2030. At the beginning of the program, a majority of allowances for emitting carbon would be given free to the private sector. After five years, the amount would be gradually reduced each year.

Some carbon credits would be auctioned off by the government, with proceeds used to fund research into ways to store carbon, develop and deploy low- and no-carbon technologies and help states address the effects of climate change.

Companies that can’t meet the requirements would be allowed to exceed them but, in the first year of the program, would have to pay $12 per metric ton of carbon that exceeds limits. The fee would rise each year at 5 percent above the rate of inflation as an incentive to companies to reduce emissions. The money collected would be put toward the development of low- or no-carbon technology.

The bill would also require exports to the United States to be subject to low-carbon standards, according to the news release. It would call for a review of the program every five years to measure progress.

The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As reported in the Albuquerque Tribune, several other pending bills would enact tougher regulations, which is perhaps part of the reason Bingaman’s bill already has a great deal of support.