From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director

November 10, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network produces and distributes this periodic policy update on efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act, S-2877. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

In This Issue:
#1  Huffington Post:  Australia’s Hazardous Road to Climate Action, by Peter Boyer
#2  Congress.org:  Environmentalists Plan Fresh Start, by Ambreen Ali
#3  Huffington Post:  Who Do You Want to Fight With Next Year?, by Bill Scher
#4  OpenSecrets.org:  Koch Industries Continue to Expand Influence, by Evan Mackinder and Michael Beckel
#5  Huffington Post:  Think Prop 23 is Bad? So is Prop 26, by Mike Sandler

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#1  Huffington Post:  Australia’s Hazardous Road to Climate Action, by Peter Boyer
“Under Julia Gillard, the Australian government has shown signs that it is prepared to shift ground on climate policy, perhaps even to embrace an interim carbon tax arrangement – similar to James Hansen’s “fee-and-dividend” proposal – that the Greens had taken to the election, in the likely event that a market-based mechanism will take a long time to bed down.”

For the full article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-boyer/australias-hazardous-road_b_778483.html

#2  Congress.org:  Environmentalists Plan Fresh Start, by Ambreen Ali
“’There was a need for a course correction anyway as far as the dominant approach taken in this Congress,’ he said. ‘It could be that both parties cool their heads [after elections]. ’Glick’s group [CCAN] favors a cap-and-dividend model—which has  bipartisan support from Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine)—as opposed to the cap-and-trade bill passed by House Democrats last year.”

For the full article go to: http://www.congress.org/news/2010/11/02/environmentalists_plan_fresh_start

#3  Huffington Post:  Who Do You Want to Fight With Next Year?, by Bill Scher
“So, what fights do you want? Do you want to debate how much more government is needed to boost the economy? Or whether government is needed at all? Do you want to debate cap-and-trade versus cap-and-dividend? Or whether global warming even exists? Quite frankly, the latter is kind of tempting. Simple fights with a clear winner at the end.”

For the full article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-scher/who-do-you-want-to-fight_b_775986.html

#4  OpenSecrets.org:  Koch Industries Continue to Expand Influence, by Evan Mackinder and Michael Beckel

“Though the election seems to have disrupted Democratic plans for comprehensive energy legislation, Koch still made several bills a priority, including the House-approved American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, otherwise known as the Waxman-Markey ‘cap-and-trade’ bill, and the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act, another version of the clean energy legislation that Democrats tried to put forward in the Senate, which used a ‘cap-and-dividend’ approach.”

For the full article go to: http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/10/koch-industries-continues-to-expand-1.html

#5  Huffington Post:  Think Prop 23 is Bad? So is Prop 26, by Mike Sandler
“The transition to a green economy won’t be free, but as the Climate Protection Campaign’s Barry Vesser notes, ‘All economic transitions have costs, so the question is who pays. The answer is easy: polluters. The oil and coal companies that introduce fossil fuels into the economy should be forced to buy permits, and a majority of the proceeds should be rebated to California citizens to help with higher energy costs. This is called cap and dividend.’ Oil companies’ economic fear tactics can be countered with dividends, and in the short term, by voting no on Propositions 23 and 26.”

For the full article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-sandler/think-prop-23-is-bad-so-i_b_772339.html

CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
May 24, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), S. 2877. Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

Week of May 17-23: In This Issue

Senators and environmental and climate groups have been assessing the American Power Act introduced two weeks ago by Senators Kerry and Lieberman. Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid has said that in June the Senate Democrats will gather for in-depth discussion about climate/energy legislation to see if they can agree on a path forward. Articles in Capitol Hill-based publications and elsewhere report on and analyze the options.

1. Climate Wire: Senate emissions bill in search of a few good leaders
2. The Billings (Mt.) Gazette: No one fond of Senate’s global-warming bill
   
3. Huffington Post article: K-L climate bill victimized by “stall, water-down and ditch” 
4. The Hill:  Green coalition blasts Senate climate bill
5. Huffington Post: Rabbi cries out, “Let’s believe in ourselves and make it happen.”

#1  Climate Wire: Senate emissions bill in search of a few good leaders 

In a Climate Wire article reviewing the possibilities and prospects for the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act, Senator Cantwell is quoted expressing concern about how the process of trying to adopt legislation will proceed: “Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), co-author with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) of a competing plan for pricing carbon emissions, said yesterday she would prefer that committee leaders get a bigger say in the overall legislation. ’I think there’s so much of a process issue here,’ Cantwell said. ‘People really want process. They just get so concerned when you don’t follow a process. I guess, the chairs, et al, will have to figure out one.’”

For the full article go to:  http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1264

#2  The Billings (Mt.) Gazette: No one fond of Senate’s global-warming bill

An article about Senate climate legislation in the Billings Gazette in Montana quoted extensively from a leader of the Montana Environmental Information Center in support of  the CLEAR Act:  “MEIC favors a ‘cap and dividend’ approach, in which the government would sell emissions credits to polluters and rebate the revenue to consumers. [Kyla] Weins said cap and dividend might still have a chance despite Kerry and Lieberman’s rollout of the American Power Act. The American Power Act is 900 pages long [actually 987] and lacks Republican support since co-author Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pulled his endorsement last month.”

For the full article go to: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_883a7f2e-6305-11df-afd4-001cc4c002e0.html

#3  Huffington Post article: K-L climate bill victimized by “stall, water-down and ditch”

An article on the Huffington Post by Mike Sandler, co-founder of the Climate Protection Campaign in Sonoma County, California, analyzed the prospects for federal legislation after the introduction of the APA:  “Considering that K-L lacks any known Republican support, is it still the only ‘real’ climate bill? As Yoda once told Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back, ‘There is another’: the Cantwell-Collins CLEAR Act. The CLEAR Act has been around since December, but in all the anticipation for KGL, remained a runner up… until now. Now it is the last bill with Republican support standing (thank you, Susan Collins!). Besides being bipartisan, it reduces emissions, gives most of the permit auction revenues back to consumers, invests the rest in clean technologies, and lacks the free allocations, subsidies, and offsets to coal, oil, and nuclear contained in K-L.”

For the full article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-sandler/k-l-climate-bill-victimiz_b_579542.html

#4  The Hill:  Green coalition blasts Senate climate bill

An article published on May 17^th on The Hill website reported on a coalition of 15 organizations, some of which have come out publicly in support of the CLEAR Act, which released a statement strongly criticizing the American Power Act: “Fifteen organizations, including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation, which is a Quaker lobbying group, have formed the Climate Reality Check coalition to oppose the legislation, released last week by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.). ‘The well-being of our nation and the world are being sacrificed for the interests of big polluters, which continue to rake in record profits at the expense of the environment and the public,’ the group said in a statement.

For the full article go to: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/98243-green-coalition-blasts-senate-climate-bill

To see the full statement go to:  http://www.climaterealitycheck.org.

#5  Huffington Post: Rabbi cries out, “Let’s believe in ourselves and make it happen.”

In an article posted on the Huffington Post, Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater of Pasadena, Ca. calls for urgent action on the climate crisis: “This BP oil disaster, sadly, as it kills birds, plants, ocean life, and destroys the livelihood of our fellow citizens along the Gulf, is a reminder, perhaps of Biblical proportions, that now is the time to support, demand and execute the major changes needed in these darkening and challenging days and months ahead. . . Find out more for yourselves and hopefully you too will support [the CLEAR Act], and help enact meaningful and sustainable change, not just political rhetoric with more of the same self-destructive decisions based on lobbyist contributions and corporate power.”

For the full article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-joshua-levine-grater/starting-oils-retirement_b_586725.html

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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.

From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
May 17, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME), S. 2877. Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

Week of May 10-16: Many thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of barrels of oil a day continue to spill into the gulf, and Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced the American Power Act that they have been working on with Lindsay Graham for many months. Senators Collins and Cantwell responded with their first thoughts about the APA. On the same day that Senators Kerry and Lieberman released their bill, the AARP sent a letter to Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, urging him to hold a hearing on the CLEAR Act and making clear their continued support of it. In a Maine newspaper, the president and CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet praised Senator Collins for her courage and leadership in co-sponsoring the CLEAR Act. In the Washington Post on Sunday Clean Air Watch President Frank O’Donnell calls the Kerry-Lieberman efforts “a bust” and praises the CLEAR Act. And a listing is provided of all of the over 90 organizations that have come out publicly in support of the CLEAR Act.

In This Issue:

1. Climate Wire: Now launched, the climate bill faces period of hard work
2. Senator Collins responds to K-L bill, emphasizes need for bipartisanship and consumer protection
3. AARP calls upon Senator Baucus to hold hearing on the CLEAR Act
4. Clean Air-Cool Planet leader praises Senator Collins
5. Frank O’Donnell in Washington Post: Kerry-Lieberman strategy is “a bust”
6. Close to 100 organizations have publicly supported the CLEAR Act

#1  Climate Wire: Now launched, the climate bill faces period of hard work

In an article published May 13th on Climate Wire, Senator Maria Cantwell is quoted, very briefly, about her reaction to the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act: “Also in flux are two senators who have offered a competing climate plan. Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Collins (R-Me.) introduced the ‘CLEAR Act,’ which limits carbon markets to regulated facilities, in part because of the distrust of Wall Street banks after the economic plunge. Kerry and Lieberman have a different plan. They would permit a secondary market in which unregulated traders could buy and sell carbon allowances. But they may be seeking a compromise with Cantwell and Collins by requiring firms, like utilities or banks, to provide upfront cash in all purchases — rather than use derivatives. Cantwell, when asked by a reporter yesterday if it seemed like Kerry and Lieberman were bending to her concerns, said, ‘I doubt it.’”

For the full article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/05/13/13climatewire-now-launched-the-climate-bill-faces-period-o-17963.html

#2  Senator Collins responds to K-L bill, emphasizes need for bipartisanship and consumer protection

In an article published on E&E News on May 12^th, Senator Susan Collins is quoted saying that the CLEAR Act is better for consumers: “Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she supports a price on carbon emissions but took the release of the Kerry-Lieberman bill as an opportunity to plug her own bill. ‘To achieve success in the Senate, clean energy legislation must be bipartisan,’ Collins said. ‘I continue to believe the ‘CLEAR Act,’ which Senator Cantwell and I introduced in December, is the clean energy policy our nation should pursue. It positions the U.S. to be a leader in renewable energy and energy conservation technologies by placing a predictable, straightforward price on carbon.’

“The Cantwell-Collins bill, she added, ‘better protects consumers’ with a rebate of 75 percent of the revenues going directly to the American public and by preventing speculation in the carbon market. On both of
those points, Kerry in recent days has said his bill does even more to address those issues.

For the full article go to:  http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/detail/news.cfm?news_id=1255

#3  AARP calls upon Senator Baucus to hold hearing on the CLEAR Act

In a letter sent May 12^th to Senator Max Baucus (D-Mt.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, the national AARP urged him to hold a hearing on the CLEAR Act. Signed by David P. Sloane, Senior Vice President for Government Relations and Advocacy, the letter said, in part, “AARP’s primary interest in climate change legislation is protecting consumers from having to pay a disproportionate or excessive share of the cost of any approach Congress determines. . . AARP believes the CLEAR Act presents the best policy construct for reducing carbon emissions from the standpoint of consumers.”

For the full letter go to:  http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/doc/Baucusclimate051210.pdf

#4  Clean Air-Cool Planet leader praises Senator Susan Collins

In an article in the Maine Compass, the president and CEO of Clean Air-Cool Planet praises the leadership Senator Susan Collins has shown in co-sponsoring the CLEAR Act: “Maine’s Susan Collins is showing strong leadership in the US Senate. Leading — not following political lines, bucking the tide of special interests, doing what’s right for her constituents as a matter of conscience — takes courage, understanding and patience.

“In true bipartisan spirit, Collins and Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington State, are co-sponsoring legislation that would lead to significant reductions in carbon emissions while protecting businesses and consumers. Collins’ stance on climate issues in Congress shows exactly that.”

For the full article to go: http://www.onlinesentinel.com/opinion/MAINE-COMPASS-Collins-takes-up-fight-against-carbon-emissions.html

#5  Frank O’Donnell in Washington Post: Kerry-Lieberman strategy is “a bust”

Frank O’Donnell, President of Clean Air Watch, is quoted in the May 16 Washington Post as one of several “environmental and policy experts” commenting on the chances for the Kerry-Lieberman bill: “They spent months on an inside-the-Beltway strategy: offering special deals to appease powerful special-interest lobbies — oil, coal, power, agriculture, etc. — in hopes that those lobbies would persuade Republicans to sign up. So far that strategy is a bust. Fortunately, the powerful seniors’ lobby AARP has reminded us there is a more consumer-friendly alternative: legislation introduced by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine). It would require polluters to pay for the right to pollute and return most of the money to the public.”

For the full article go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/14/AR2010051404235.
html

#6  Close to 100 organizations have publicly supported the CLEAR Act

As the introduction of the Kerry-Lieberman “American Power Act” refocuses national attention on climate legislation in the U.S. Senate, the number of organizations coming out publicly in support of the CLEAR Act as a better alternative continues to grow. Our best count of the total number is 93.

There are 51 signers so far of a statement circulated by CCAN and a number of other groups around the country:

350.org, Alaska Marine Conservation Council, Association of World Citizens, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Md/D.C./Va., Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future (PennFuture), Clean Air Watch, Climate Change is Elementary, Climate Protection Campaign, California, Consortium for Worker Education, N.Y., N.Y., Dakota Resource Council, Earth Charter Lifeboat Academy of Pennsylvania, Fresh Energy, Minnesota, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers), Global Warming Education Network, Massachusetts, Grassroots Coalition for Environmental and Economic Justice, central Pa., Idaho Conservation League, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, International Rivers, Kinnelon (NJ) Conserves, Kyoto USA, Las Vegas, NM City Council, Lexington, Ma. Global Warming Action Coalition, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice Peace/Integrity of Creation Office, Montana Environmental Information Center, National Community Action Foundation, New Energy Economy, New Mexico, New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), New York Interfaith Power and Light, North Carolina Conservation Network, Ohio Citizen Action, The Order of the Earth, central Pa., Organic Consumers Association, Our Next Economy LLC, Plains Justice (ND/SD/Mt/Ne/Ia/Wy), Pax Christi, USA, Polytrade International Corp., Post Carbon Institute, Public Citizen, Quaker Earthcare Witness, Santa Rosa City Council, California, Sebastopol City Council, California, Sonoma City Council, California, The Shalom Center, Social Justice Committee, First Unitarian Church of Lynchburg, Va., Sustainable Design, The Stella Group, Ltd., Tomales Bay Institute, Valley Watch, Inc., Evansville, In., Western Organization of Resource Councils

There are 42 signers of a religious groups’ statement circulated by the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns:

The Affording Hope Project, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Center of Concern , Collaborative Center for Justice, Inc., Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Community Action for Justice in the Americas,  Africa, Asia (CAJA), Congregation of St. Joseph Justice Team, Dominican Sisters, Grand Rapids, Fargo Presentation Sisters’ Peace and Justice Center, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Holy Cross International Justice Office, Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, JPIC – USA, Institute Justice Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Jubilee Montana Network, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Loretto Community, Loretto Earth Network, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Medical Mission Sisters, North America Sector, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Justice Peace/Integrity of Creation Office, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, PLANT (Partners for the Land and Agricultural Needs of Traditional Peoples), Presentation Peace & Justice Center – Fargo, ND, The Racine Dominicans Leadership Team, School Sisters of Notre Dame Shalom North America Coordinating Committee, School Sisters of St Francis, Milwaukee, Wisconsin — U.S. Leadership Team, The Shalom Center, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth Congregational Leadership, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Western Province, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Institute Justice Team, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Justice and Peace Network, Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, MA, Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, leadership team, The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Advocacy for Justice and Peace Committee, Sisters of St. Francis of Savannah, MO, Sisters of St. Francis, Rochester, Minnesota, Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield MA, Sisters of the Divine Compassion, Sisters of the Holy Cross – Congregation Justice Committee Notre Dame, IN, Sisters of the Most Precious Blood of O’Fallon, MO Leadership Team, Sisters of the Presentation, Dubuque Leadership Team, SISTERS ONLINE, Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office – UUUNO

In addition, the following organizations have publicly indicated in some way their support for the CLEAR Act: AARP, Clean Air-Cool Planet, The Nation Magazine.

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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.