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  • Will health care eclipse climate in Congress this year?

    Halfway through the second debate of last fall’s presidential campaign, moderator Tom Brokaw asked the candidates what their top priority would be if elected. McCain hemmed and hawed, but Obama answered in plain language: energy is “priority No. 1” and health care “priority No. 2.” Fast forward. In an NYT Magazine piece this weekend on […]

  • Climate bill would be a net gain for federal budget, says CBO

    Were it to become law, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) would be a net gain for the federal Treasury, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office. The report finds that the bill, sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would raise roughly $845.6 billion in federal […]

  • Some heated exchanges from Bonn on “binding commitments” for Copenhagen

    Photo: Ellas DadPhoto: Ella’s DadIn the climate negotiations occurring in Bonn, Germany there is an emerging debate on the form of “commitment or action” developing countries will undertake (as the Economic Times in India points out).  This has been a long running debate in the international global warming negotiations, but it has gained more focus […]

  • Everything you wanted to know about Waxman-Markey allocations

    UPDATE:  At the end, I’m going to respond to what has now become a widespread myth that because Waxman-Markey supposedly mutes the electric price signal to consumers, it hurts the cause of energy efficiency. The Subcommittee on Energy and Environment will hold a hearing titled, “Allowance Allocation Policies in Climate Legislation:  Assisting Consumers, Investing in […]

  • Why does the much-touted climate bill look like it was stolen from the Republican playbook?

    “Command and control” is a military term the Republicans long ago appropriated to caricature and condemn Democratic programs. Republicans like to contrast the Democrats’ embrace of a command and control, regulation-based you-will-do-as-I-say-or-else strategy with their own, presumably, more effective market-based we-will-make-it-worthwhile-for-you-to-do-what-we-want approach. Nowhere is the phrase “command and control” used more often and with more […]

  • Climate envoy Todd Stern on U.S. climate action and the possibility of deal with China

    Todd Stern.U.S. Climate Envoy and former Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Todd Stern spoke at CAP Tuesday.  If you want to know where US-China negotiations are headed on climate, I highly recommend watching the video of his talk here (a PDF of his prepared remarks are here). He is a blunt guy for someone […]

  • Renewables industry protests weak RES proposals in Congress

    In January, Barack Obama stopped by the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in Bedford Heights, Ohio, to promote his economic-stimulus plan. The company, which has manufactured parts for bridges and machinery since 1968, began three years ago to make giant nuts and bolts to hold together wind turbines. During his visit, Obama cited the factory […]

  • The Climate Post: Waxman-Markey, Bonn, and carbon counting

    The U.S. Congress fast-tracks climate legislation, international negotiators hash through the first “negotiating text” for year-end global talks in Germany, and big businesses start counting their carbon. The pile of climate stories this week climbed faster than predicted New England sea levels. The American Clean Energy and Security Act — aka Waxman-Markey, aka ACES, aka […]

  • Pelosi won’t commit to deadline for passing climate bill

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set a soft deadline of June 19 for committee leaders to finish their review of the climate and energy bill that passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee last month. But she hasn’t set a deadline for passing the bill out the full chamber. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, […]