Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Today, Congressman Ed Markey has announced that he will introduce the the Investing in Climate Action and Protection (iCAP) Act next week.  Unlike the Boxer-Lieberman-Warner Climate inSecurity Act (BLW CISA), the iCAP follows science calling for a reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in covered sectors by 85 percent by 2050.  It also is serious in making polluters pay, with nearly 100 percent of pollution permits auctioned (94 percent in 2012, 100 percent by 2020). And, it has strong provisions to secure social equity (both domestically and internationally).  In short, iCAP is in lines with the basic principles for global warming legislation.

The iCAP has significant focus on “investing”, on investing in a positive vision for dealing with Global Warming.  “To heal this sick planet” in a way that will strengthen society, strengthen the economy at the same time.

Now, iCAP has a tremendous amount of value.

It also has a tremendous amount of material.  

Having just seen the summary and read (and listened to via CSPAN) the speech, it is not the time to embrace the legislation as is, even within its strengths.  For example, there look to be some uncertain elements.  For example, let us take one point:

Return over half of auction proceeds to low- and middle-income households to help compensate for any increase in energy costs as a result of climate legislation.
 

The iCAP Act returns over half of auction proceeds to low- and middle-income households through rebates and tax credits. This will compensate all increased energy costs due to climate legislation for all households earning under $70,000 (66 percent of U.S. households), and will provide benefits to all households earning up to $110,000 (over 80 percent of U.S. households).

This raises a number of questions. 

Or, to take another example, while stronger than BLW CiSA, iCAP’s reduction targets are in line with the <a href=”http://energysmart.wordpress.com/2008/04/23/house-principles-on-gw-legislation-gaps-with-requirements/”>House Principles</a>, which are inadequate against requirements..  The targeted 20 percent reduction from today’s levels by 2020 are less than half the required reductions that science calls for: which would be 25 percent, for developed nations, below 1990 levels by 2020.

Or another, which is that up to 30 percent of reductions can occur via domestic and international offsets.  “Offsets” do not necessarily lead to real reductions.  The more important path is to ensure that all polluters have to pay for pollution permits, which creates a quite direct fiscal incentive for reducing one’s own GHG pollution.

<strong>Despite the Buts …</strong>

Yes, there are likely weaknesses in iCAP but there are strengths. 

<li><strong>Scientifically Sound</strong>: Markey is striving here and iCAP targets 85 percent reduction from current US GHG emissions by 2050 (which puts it in the range of required 80 percent reductions from 1990 levels, which is viewed as a minimum level to provide a 50 percent chance to avoid catastrophic climate change). (As noted above, the 2020 levels are inadequate.)</li>
<li><strong>Polluters Pay</strong>:  While not 100 percent true, iCAP gives out a very limited amount of pollution permits and phases out any permit handouts to serial polluters by 2020. Not perfect, but a great improvement over BLW CiSA.</li>
<li>Social Equity:  As discussed above, iCAP has quite serious provisions to insure that lower and middle class Americans are not harmed via increased energy costs.</li>

In addition, the iCAP targets using remaining auction revenues (after the Social Equity payments) for clean energy technology, efficiency, incentives to farmers and foresters for carbon storage friendly practices, green jobs, resiliency programs to deal with climate-change impacts, assistance to developing countries (for reducing deforestration and deployment of clean technologies, and climate-change education.

Again, this is just a first look at a quite substantive action by Ed Markey.

Expect this to get more attention … from me and others.