Torys on Climate Change - May 2010

United States

Senators Kerry and Lieberman release energy and climate bill

On May 12, 2010, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released a draft of their long-awaited energy and climate change bill, the American Power Act. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who had helped develop a substantial portion of the bill, recently withdrew his support.

Although the bill faces a challenging road ahead through the Senate, its key provisions are currently as follows:

Targets

The bill requires a 17% reduction in total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. The 2020 target is the same as that in the climate change legislation sponsored by Senators Waxman and Markey, which the House of Representatives passed in June. It also matches the 2020 target that the governments of Canada and the United States submitted under the Copenhagen Protocol.