"A First Look At The Details Of The Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act"

A First Look At The Details Of The Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act

Last night, the Wonk Room published a summary of the provisions of the American Power Act, the comprehensive climate and clean energy legislation being introduced today by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). This post delves deeper into the legislation’s specific provisions. The following table compares key elements of Obama’s campaign promises from 2007 and 2008, the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act as passed by the House of Representatives, and the elements of the Kerry-Lieberman draft legislation, as based on leaked summaries.

The Kerry-Lieberman legislation has a 15-year transition period that supports state-level renewable and energy efficiency initiatives (which will create millions of jobs), invests in smart transportation, and rebuilds American manufacturing, much like Waxman-Markey, but with new support for nuclear energy and natural gas that reflects the interests of large blocs of senators.

Important scientific elements in Kerry-Lieberman are the rapid mitigation of super-greenhouse gases and black carbon, as well as natural resource adaptation programs. By the end of 2025 the legislation has shifted to resemble the refund-based auctioned-allowance system promoted by President Obama and advocates of cap-and-dividend.

The primary missing information from the summaries is the disposition of the allowances — how they will be distributed to polluters and how rapidly the auctioned pool grows. Details of the scientific review provisions were also not included.

Handy Dandy chart available here..
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/05/12/kerry-lieberman/