ACES is out…. Now let the debating start
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has released a draft of an ambitious energy and climate bill that seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. That’s more than President Barack Obama’s own goals of 14% emissions reduction by 2020. The bill was released on the day President Obama arrived in London ahead of Thursday’s G20 Summit.
The bill, dubbed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), proposes a renewable portfolio standard that would require electricity suppliers to generate 6% of their energy from clean sources by 2012, gradually increasing to 25% by 2025. This is the second time a federal renewable standard is proposed. The first one was cut out of a previous energy bill in 2007. Today, more than half of the states have implemented renewable energy standards of their own.
Speaking at the launch of the Columbia Climate Center at Columbia University, Jeffrey Sachs said ACES “was the first legislation with a chance of passing.”
On energy efficiency, the bill would allow utilities to cut the size of their mandated renewable energy portfolio if they are able to cut demand through energy efficiency measures, a offset largely pushed for by the industry.
Out of the bill’s cap-and-trade portion are details about how much of these carbon credits will be auctioned off or allocated to utilities and energy-intensive industries.
The debate promises to be intense between those advocating for quick action on climate change issues and on the need to transform the U.S. energy mix to do that and those pushing for a more gradual approach.
Plans are to get the bill for full floor votes by the House and Senate in July, reports Wonk Room.
