Charging More for Carbon Costs Less for Climate

By Robert Laurence
FederalNewsRadio.com

The next Congress will be faced with mounting pressure to deal with the issue of climate change and in turn energy solutions. Although there is no clear path at this time, one senator has taken it upon himself to lay out key principles for climate legislation.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), head of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, recently proposed 10 principles for the next Congress at a speech to CSIS about energy priorities.

1. Legislation should be focused directly on the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
2. Pass legislation with a minimum of carve-outs for particular states, regions and industries.
3. Planning should be focused on the near-term and re-evaluated as it evolves.
4. Make use of our existing departments and agencies to administer the programs and Congress needs to be involved in appropriating the funds through existing committee structures.
5. Set ambitious but achievable targets for emission reductions.
6. Provide assurances that the costs will not go out of control, either through excessive prices for emission allowances or excessive volatility.
7. Have an upfront commitment to technology even before cap and trade legislation could take effect.
8. Figure out how any new climate change law will interact with the Clean Air Act.
9. Ensure that we start the program up in a workable manner, including the initial deadlines and timelines that we set in law.
10. Have a single national cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases.

Sen. Bingaman tells FederalNewsRadio that having a proper cap-and-trade program will drive the use of non-carbon based fuels.

“I think Congress and the administration are both committed to enacting a cap-and-trade system that will put a price on carbon and thereby provide incentives for people to move away from so much greenhouse gas emitting fuel,” Sen. Bingaman explains.

Concerns about the ailing economy may raise questions about implementing such a program at this time, but Sen. Bingaman believes it is time for the federal government develop a national solution.

“Europe has a cap-and-trade system in place already and some of our states and regions in the United States are, of course, moving ahead as well. So the federal government, I think, needs to step up and figure out a national policy,” Sen. Bingaman says.

With the enactment of this policy, Sen. Bingaman believes the federal government can kill two birds with one stone: “I think we will create a lot of green jobs through this, but also will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

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On the Web:

CSIS – Principles Handout (pdf)

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