News

June 28, 2009

The Week In Alternative Power: Obama Legislates To Curb Greenhouse Gas Emissions

By Sally White

Last week, by a narrow margin, the US passed legislation to impose the nation’s first limits on greenhouse gas emissions. It was a victory for President Barack Obama. But the narrowness of the 219-212 vote, however, showed that this will be a closely fought battle all the way through the legislative process. The plan is to create a market for trading pollution permits to curb emissions. Mr Obama called the measure “a bold and necessary step that holds the promise of creating new industry and millions of new jobs”. The bill, he said, would usher in “a critical transition to a clean-energy economy without untenable burdens on the American people”.

House Republicans, who formed the bulk of the opposition to the bill, disputed this. The US Chamber of Commerce called the measure “an unrealistic approach that could further harm the economy and shed American jobs”. The American Clean Energy and Security Act calls for the US to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020. It would establish a limited number of pollution permits, more than 70 per cent of which would initially be given away free to utilities,...