The Climate Change Showdown: Dealmaking Begins Anew with Bill in U.S. Senate | GreenOrder on GreenBiz.com
If you thought automakers and banks were the only companies getting a blank check from the government — think again.
As part of sweeping climate change legislation under consideration in Congress, energy companies and utilities will receive hundreds of billions of dollars from the government to help them comply with a new program to regulate greenhouse gases. Which companies will cash in and how much money will get back to consumers hit with higher energy prices are shaping a summer showdown in Congress.
Yesterday morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held the first in a series of July hearings to develop legislative policies to address climate change. While it was largely a cheerleading session by four top Obama Administration officials on the need for Congress to act quickly, the hearing kicks off a complicated set of negotiations to secure the 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster that would slow and even halt action on climate change this year.
What North Texas lawmakers had to say about climate bill | Business | Star-Telegram.com
Area lawmakers’ views on climate-change bill
A look at how some North Texas U.S. House members voted on the historic climate-change bill:
Joe Barton, R-Arlington: Against. This bill “will be the largest tax and job killer ever.”
Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville: Against. “We cannot afford to risk our economic future on unproven science and a reliance on nonexistent technology.”
Chet Edwards, D-Waco: Against. “I’m concerned it could increase gasoline and utility costs for families, farmers and businesses during tough economic times.”
Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth: Against. If impacted companies “can’t operate within their emissions limit, they [will] have to pay the government or other parties to get a higher limit.”
Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas: For. “I believe we have a responsibility to our young people, and this legislation will preserve our planet for them by reducing the pollution that causes global warming.”
Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell: Against. “This legislation has nothing to do with becoming energy independent. It has everything to do with an agenda by some to have government control every aspect of its citizens’ lives.”
Michelle Malkin » What will happen next if cap-and-tax passes?
America’s biggest oil companies will probably cope with U.S. carbon legislation by closing fuel plants, cutting capital spending and increasing imports.
Under the Waxman-Markey climate bill that may be voted on today by the U.S. House, refiners would have to buy allowances for carbon dioxide spewed from their plants and from vehicles when motorists burn their fuel. Imports would need permits only for the latter, which ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva said would create a competitive imbalance.
“It will lead to the opportunity for foreign sources to bring in transportation fuels at a lower cost, which will have an adverse impact to our industry, potential shutdown of refineries and investment and, ultimately, employment,” Mulva said in a June 16 interview in Detroit. Houston-based ConocoPhillips has the second-largest U.S. refining capacity.
The same amount of gasoline that would have $1 in carbon costs imposed if it were domestic would have 10 cents less added if it were imported, according to energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie in Houston. Contrary to President Barack Obama’s goal of reducing dependence on overseas energy suppliers, the bill would incent U.S. refiners to import more fuel, said Clayton Mahaffey, an analyst at RedChip Cos. in Maitland, Florida.
“They’ll be searching the globe for refined products that don’t carry the same level of carbon costs,” said Mahaffey, a former Exxon Corp. refinery manager.
Prices Seen Rising
One in six U.S. refineries probably would close by 2020 as the cost of carbon allowances erases profits, according to the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington trade group known as API. Carbon permits would add 77 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline, said Russell Jones, the API’s senior economic adviser.
via Michelle Malkin » What will happen next if cap-and-tax passes?.
via Bloomberg.
Cash for Clunkers is Another Bailout for the Auto Industry » The Foundry
On paper, it sounds great. $4,500 for a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Everyone loves more miles to the gallon. But there’s the law of unintended consequences and the cash for clunkers program is no exception.
via Cash for Clunkers is Another Bailout for the Auto Industry » The Foundry.
EPA’s Flawed Cap and Trade Analysis » The Foundry
Why is it that no one in main press is reporting these findings? Or we so enamored with being the liberal leaders of the world that reality is no longer relevant?
National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) released a new study that predicts devastating economic impacts of Waxman-Markey’s cap and trade legislation. (Download PDF)
The analysis determines that by 2030 the law would:
• Reduce national GDP roughly $350 billon below the baseline level;
• Cut net employment by 2.5 million jobs (even after accounting for new “green” jobs); and
• Reduce earnings for the average U.S. worker by $390 per year.
• Reduce an average household’s annual purchasing power by $830.
House panel advances global warming bill – Yahoo! News
Barton said he had “serious concern about the redirection of our energy policy in America.”
“For the sake of our nation, I hope to some degree you are right. I’m afraid that you’re not. We will see,” Barton told Waxman minutes before the vote.
Waste Management invests in trash-to-energy tech
S4 Energy Solutions is a joint venture which will use plasma gasification technology from InEnTec of Bend, Ore., to build distributed energy systems. Waste Management financed the creation of the venture, marking the first time that the trash collector has invested in gasification technology, said Senior Vice President Joseph Vaillancourt.
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