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Senate bill shows obstacles to capping greenhouse gases
Even supporters see little chance of its approval
WASHINGTON - When the Senate takes up landmark climate legislation this week, its backers can be sure of just one thing: The obstacles they face show how hard it will be to enact a meaningful cap on greenhouse gases.
Even supporters of the complex, extensively negotiated bill say that there is little chance that it will win Senate approval, less chance that the House will agree on a similar measure, and perhaps no chance that President Bush would sign it if it reaches him.
"In some ways, this is a dress rehearsal for next year, but I still think it will be a useful thing for the Senate and Congress, because at some point we have to deal with it," said Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, who has yet to decide how he will vote.
For the moment, supporters of establishing a federal cap-and-trade system to curb emissions linked to global warming say they hope to put down a marker in the national debate over climate change. And lawmakers from both parties are eyeing how their votes might become fodder in this fall's presidential and senatorial elections.
The bill seeks to cut US emissions 18 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and slash them nearly 70 percent by midcentury. It would require power plants, oil refineries, factories, and transportation systems to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Opponents said the bill will cause gasoline and energy prices to rise even faster.
Sponsors of the bill and environmental groups say the impact on prices will be relatively small. They also say the legislation would offer tax incentives for the development of alternative energy sources and the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation.
The plan has picked up support in recent weeks from 13 unions in the AFL-CIO's building and construction trades department, the US Conference of Mayors, and many faith groups. It is also backed by companies such as
Energy companies that favor a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions contend this version is the wrong one and will cost consumers too much. Under cap-and-trade systems, companies are given licenses that cap emission levels. Those that cut pollution can sell unused allowances to companies that exceed the cap.
"This is just a money grab," said James Rogers, the chief executive of
More than a dozen key senators - including freshmen Democrats Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, and Jon Tester of Montana - have yet to endorse the bill. And Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, who supports the bill, is not pushing recalcitrant members of his caucus to back it.
"Generally, I believe that global warming is a serious issue and that we need to address it," said Dorgan, whose state produces lignite coal as well as wind power. But he added that he is still "digesting" the complicated bill, which he fears would not do enough to spur technology that would enable the country to continue burning coal.
"We thought and hoped we'd be in a more serious place, but most people are using it as an opportunity to vet ideas and advance ideas for the debate to come in the next Congress," said Tim Profeta, who directs Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. "Not many people see this as a serious piece of legislation that will become law this year."
Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has championed the bill, which is sponsored by Senators Joseph Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and John Warner, Republican of Virginia.
Boxer said it is understandable that she and her colleagues are encountering resistance.
"This is landmark legislation, and enacting landmark legislation is never an easy task," she said. "There is always an excuse not to act - but in this case, the longer we wait, the harder it gets to solve this problem."
Most advocates who have spent years pushing for climate legislation said they hope that the Lieberman-Warner bill will get more than the 38 ayes a similar bill got in 2005 and the 43 received in 2003. A coal industry source said the source's lobbyists counted 45 senators favoring the bill and 47 definitely or leaning against it.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, a coal industry group, has been running ads in a dozen states with senators believed to be undecided.
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