Sen. Cantwell

We have been waiting to read Senator Cantwell’s bill for a long time, and it’s finally been introduced.  A newly introduced climate change bill would cap planet-warming emissions,  but reduce the role of Wall Street in carbon markets. The bill would use a “cap and dividend” method to control emissions,  and is described as more streamlined than the House’s cap and trade scheme.

This bipartisan bill “provides businesses and investors with a simple, predictable mechanism that will open the way to clean energy expansion while achieving America’s goals of reducing carbon emissions,” Cantwell said in statement.

For information on the CLEAR Act and a copy of the report on the dividend economic impact, see Senator Cantwell’s web site and see the legislative descriptions:

- One Page Summary
– Detailed description
- Legislative Text

Unlike the Waxman-Markey (ACESA) bill passed by the House earlier this year, financial speculators would be shut out of carbon markets created under new legislation, called CLEAR, introduced by Senators Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Republican. CLEAR stands for Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal.  According to Cantwell’s website,

“The CLEAR Act would set up a mechanism for selling “carbon shares” to fuel producers and would return most of the resulting revenue in checks to every American. The legislation will achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.

“Energy is a six-trillion dollar market opportunity, and green jobs can transform the U.S. economy,” Senator Cantwell said. “But we need a signal on carbon so that this can happen. This bill provides a simple approach to getting off of carbon and on to clean energy alternatives. The CLEAR Act provides businesses and investors with a simple, predictable mechanism that will open the way to clean energy expansion while achieving America’s goals of reducing carbon emission.”

Along with the legislation, Cantwell issued a report today detailing the positive economic impact of the dividends to be returned directly to consumers. According to the report, a typical family of four would receive tax-free monthly checks from the government averaging $1,100 per year, or $21,000 between 2012 and 2030.

Senator Collins said: “This bill addresses the most significant energy and environmental challenges facing our country.  It would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, promote alternative energy and energy conservation, and advance the goal of energy independence for our nation.  Climate change legislation must protect consumers and industries that could be hit with higher energy prices.  Such legislation also must provide predictability so that businesses can plan, invest, and create jobs.  Finally, climate change legislation should encourage adoption of energy efficiency measures and the further development of renewable energy, which would spur our economy and job creation.  The CLEAR Act achieves all of these goals.”

Cantwell and Collins highlighted the findings of a recent report by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law that concluded: “carbon [...]