Download “A View From the Capitol” CLEAN AIR: Law, Policy, and Practice

“A View From the Capitol”
CLEAN AIR: Law, Policy, and
Practice
Greg Dotson
House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee
Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA)
• Chairman, House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee
– Principal Oversight Committee in the U.S.
House of Representatives
• Senior Democrat on House Energy and
Commerce Committee
– Chairman, Health and Environment
Subcommittee, 1979 to 1994
A New Dynamic on Climate Change
Policy
• Science
• Media
• Business
• Supreme Court
• Public Understanding
Change in Leadership in the House
• “as long as I am subcommittee chairman, [regulating
greenhouse gases] is off the table indefinitely. I don't
want there to be any uncertainty about that.”
– Chairman Joe Barton, March 14, 2001
• "We should set ambitious goals and targets for that
legislation. It should stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations at levels that will avoid or avert largescale climate change consequences. That will require a
reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions of
between 60, and perhaps as much as 80, percent by
2050."
– Chairman John Dingell, June 27, 2007
Rep. Waxman’s Climate Legislation
• Safe Climate Act, H.R. 1590 – 144 cosponsors
• Carbon Neutral Government Act, H.R. 2635 –
•
•
Passed by the House
Global Climate and Ozone Layer Protection Act,
H.R. 3448 – supported by both enviros and
industry
Moratorium on Uncontrolled Power Plants –
announced yesterday
Energy Bill
• Coordinates Energy Policy with
Environmental goals
– Renewable Energy Standard
– Energy Efficiency Improvements
– CAFE in the Senate
– Tax title
• Analyses show could get us 19-44% of the
way there
House Oversight Committee
Investigations
• CEQ
• DOT Lobbying
• Transmission Corridors
• Uncontrolled Coal-Fired Power Plants
House Oversight Committee
• Additional Hearings
– “Black Carbon and Global Warming”
– “Achievements and Opportunities for Climate
Protection under the Montreal Protocol”
Proposed Uncontrolled Power
Plants Compared to State Programs
to Reduce Emissions
5-Year Comparison of Regional CO2 Reduction Programs and
Coal-Fired Plants
200
180
160
MTCO2
140
120
112
100
60
63.5
Reduction Programs
Coal-Fired Plant Emissions
100
80
60
40
20
0
House Oversight and Government
Reform
http://oversight.house.gov/