Shelley N. Fidler
VNF Policy Updates
Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - July 26, 2010
Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van Smith, Doug RhorerJuly 26, 2010
Majority Leader Reid pulled the plug on a carbon pricing element of the energy bill, citing insufficient votes. The announcement by Reid cut short an effort by some environmental groups and a few utilities to develop a compromise utility-only cap-and-trade program; the effort had not yet borne fruit. Senator Kerry says he still intends to bring the bill forward during the recess . . . Now that it is all but certain that Congress will not enact a climate program this year, look for the debate to shift to the Rockefeller bill and other initiatives aimed at shaping, delaying, or derailing EPA regulation of GHG emissions under the Clean Air Act. . . .
Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - July 19, 2010
Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van Smith, Doug RhorerJuly 19, 2010
Our understanding is that staff for Sens. Kerry, Lieberman, Snowe, and Bingaman are now in the same room trying to work out the climate portion of an energy-climate bill. Staff for Sens. Stabenow and Brown staff also are involved. A key issue is how to address the cost concerns of energy-intensive industrials; the utility-only design leaves fewer allowances for this purpose. In addition, some utilities want the legislation to address non-GHG regulations expected to affect the sector in the next few years. This idea has set off alarm bells with environmental groups . . .
Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - July 12, 2010
Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van Smith, Doug RhorerJuly 12, 2010
Majority Leader Reid will meet this week with the committee chairmen that can lay claim to pieces of the energy/climate equation: Bingaman, Kerry, Rockefeller, Baucus, and Lincoln. The aim will be to settle on a package to bring to the Senate. Item A on the menu will be oil spill liability provisions. The other options could include such items as: the Bingaman renewable energy standard; a “low-carbon” or “diverse energy standard”, which could include nuclear power or natural gas as permissible forms of compliance; and various versions of carbon pricing . . .
Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - July 6, 2010
Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van SmithJuly 6, 2010
In last Tuesday’s meeting with a bipartisan collection of Senators, President Obama pushed for legislation with a carbon price, but did not endorse any particular bill or design . . . Republican Senators Alexander and Murkowski (previous supporters of legislation with a carbon price) stood firmly against an emissions cap. Senator Snowe, on the other hand, called for a utility-sector-only cap-and-trade program . . . Senator Bingaman announced he had a draft for such a bill under construction - but expressed doubt about its chances for success this year. Will we see a Bingaman-Snowe bill? . . .
Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - June 28, 2010
Kyle Danish, Shelley Fidler, Kevin Gallagher, Megan Ceronsky, Tomás Carbonell, Harold Bulger, Van SmithJune 28, 2010
At a “revival”-like meeting of the caucus, Senate Democrats talked about a legislative strategy of linking climate provisions to presumably popular oil spill provisions, thereby creating a more difficult-to-oppose package . . . The upcoming Tuesday morning meeting in the White House between the President and a bipartisan group of Senators may yield further details on a path forward . . . The writers of the Climate Change Policy Update pay tribute to the memory of the late Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV).