The heat is on

It’s heating up in Washington, D.C., on a number of fronts. The U.S. Senate, the House, and the federal court have all been buzzing with climate change activity. Global warming is firmly branded on the congressional agenda while the president has been forced to reveal more climate change information than he might have liked.

Two ambitious bills are circulating Congress – the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act in the Senate and the Safe Climate Act in the House of Representatives. While the Democrats surge forward with an anti-climate-change agenda, President Bush has been forced to take a step back, losing a federal court case over release of global warming documents.

Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act

"Senate Bill 309: Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act” was introduced in January 2007 by Independent Senator Bernard Sanders. The bill currently has 19 co-sponsors, all Democratic senators.

In order to avoid some of the most dangerous consequences of climate change, the United States, which is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, must take action soon to reduce its emissions substantially. … There exists an array of technological options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and significant reductions can be attained using a portfolio of technologies that will not adversely affect the economy. – Newsroom Web site of U.S. Senator Bernard Sanders, Independent Senator for Vermont

For the record, since Senator Sanders’ statement, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency has determined that China has now overtaken the United States in CO2 emissions, the most important greenhouse gas emitted through human activity. This fact has not deterred the senator from his cause.

Specifics in his bill include “… set(ting) milestones to reduce the aggregate net levels of (global warming pollution) emissions …,” “… establish(ing) a low-carbon generation trading program …” and expressing “… the sense of the Senate that federal funds for clean, low-carbon energy research, development, and deployment should be increased by at least 100% each year for 10 years.”

This bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that will deliberate, investigate and revise it before opening it up for general debate. Environmental journalists in the U.S. are watching to see if the bill makes it back to the Senate for debate - historically the majority of bills never make it out of committee.

Safe Climate Act of 2007

In lieu of a U.S. presidential signature on the Kyoto Protocol, the House of Representatives has waded in with its own proposed measures for reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. “House Bill 1590: Safe Climate Act of 2007” was introduced by Californian Democrat, Representative Henry Waxman, in March 2007. The bill currently has 140 co-sponsors, mainly from the Democratic Party, but with a smattering of Republican supporters.

The bill sets greenhouse gas emissions targets that aim to keep temperatures below the danger point. The level of emissions is frozen in 2010 and then gradually reduced each year through 2050. … The bill achieves these targets through a flexible economy-wide cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions, along with measures to advance technology and reduce emissions through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and cleaner cars. – Issues and Legislation Web page of Representative Henry Waxman, 30th District of California

This bill has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee; the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Air Quality; and the House Foreign Affairs Committee for consideration.

Consumer groups in the U.S. are pleased with the steps being taken by a Congress with a new Democratic majority.

By the year 2050, the bills would reduce carbon emissions nationwide to a level that’s 80 percent lower than the levels that existed in 1990 – a benchmark that scientific experts consider necessary if we’re to stop short of a dangerous tipping point on climate change. … (T)he outlook for serious action on global warming is better than ever in Washington. – Missouri Public Interest Research Group (MoPIRG) Citizen Agenda, Summer 2007

MoPIRG remains cautious about legislative reform in the environmental sector. It laments the “many political hurdles” faced by pollution reduction measures, “… not the least of which is the Bush-Cheney White House, which still offers tepid support, at best, for any step beyond ‘more research’ or ‘voluntary measures’ on global warming.” However, a recent federal court outcome has challenged the White House’s climate change attitude.

Center for Biological Diversity v. Brennan

The Associated Press reported that on Aug. 21 a federal judge ordered the Bush administration to release overdue scientific reports on global warming after a plaintiff team comprising the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace sued the White House for failure to produce the documents. U.S. District Judge Saundra Armstrong ruled that the Bush administration violated a 1990 law by not fulfilling its obligation to release an updated climate change research plan and impact assessment. The Bush administration, represented by Dr. William Brennan, acting director of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, claimed that it had discretion over the release of these reports – Judge Armstrong rejected this claim.

Armstrong gave the administration a deadline of March 1, 2008, to issue a plan that serves to guide federal research on climate change. An updated plan is meant, by federal law, to be issued every three years, however the last plan was made in 2003.

Also, Armstrong imposed a May 31, 2008 deadline for a national assessment of the most recent scientific data on global warming and its projected effects on the U.S. environment, economy and public health. Under federal law, this report must be released every four years, however the last report came out under the Clinton administration in 2000.

"It’s a huge victory holding the administration accountable for its attempts to suppress science,” said Kassie Siegel, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity. - FirstAmendmentCentre.org

According to Kristin Scuderi, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Bush administration is currently complying with the law, working on 21 separate reports on the effects of global warming on the U.S., and taking preliminary steps to prepare a new research plan.

Further Reading:

• Court Rules Against Bush Administration in Global Warming Case