Economy-Wide Cap-and-Trade Doubtful; Narrower Bill May Fare Better
Climate change policy experts speaking on the first day of the "Carbon Economy" summit in Washington, DC, sponsored by The Economist, expressed skepticism over the chances of passing an economy-wide cap-and-trade bill in 2010.
Eileen Claussen, President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, observed that there is a "very narrow window" of time in the Spring of 2010 - before attention shifts to the mid-term elections - for the Senate to pass a climate change bill, work out differences in a conference committee and then get both Houses to approve the compromise measure.
Jason Grumet, Founder and President of the National Commission on Energy Policy, concurred with Ms. Claussen's skepticism, stating that a fundamental lack of understanding of cap-and-trade among Senators, along with worries over its impact on an already flagging economy, further dim the prospects for an economy-wide cap-and-trade bill. Mr. Grumet believes the chances may be somewhat better to pass something less than economy-wide cap-and-trade legislation. For example, a bill which caps only the utility sector, imposes strengthened CAFE standards on transportation, and encourages energy-efficiency likely would fare better than the Kerry-Boxer bill or anything like it.
In addition to Ms. Claussen and Mr. Grumet, day one panelists included: James Rodgers, CEO of Duke Energy; Rick Duke, Assistant Secretary for Climate Change at the US Department of Energy; and Aimee Christensen, of Christiansen Global Strategies.
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