EPA's top air official says that first-time greenhouse gas (GHG) limits in a natural gas plant's air permit bolster the agency's claim that the best available control technology (BACT) permitting process can apply to GHGs, but cautions that the agency could develop BACT requirements that exceed the standards the permit mandates.
Senate co-sponsors of a newly introduced bill to reduce multiple air pollutants from power plants are downplaying the absence of carbon dioxide (CO2) controls from the plan, arguing it does not mean the Senate is giving up on climate legislation this year.
President Obama's call for a new interagency task force to examine regulatory and other barriers to carbon capture and storage (CCS) sets the stage for greater engagement by EPA and other agencies on the issue, echoing similar mandates for a federal plan on boosting CCS included in climate and energy legislation that remains stalled on Capitol Hill.
EPA has issued an updated analysis of the cap-and-trade system in the House-passed climate bill, as requested by Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), modeling the impacts of several less optimistic scenarios—including one projecting no growth in nuclear energy—on the costs of the scheme. (more)
A report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a non-partisan research arm of the government, provides a rundown of the European Union’s (EU) experience over the past five years implementing a greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (ETS), experience that “may provide some insight into cap-and-trade design issues currently being debated in the United States.” Among the report’s findings: the EU cap-and-trade experience “suggests that adding sectors to a trading scheme once established may be a slow, contentious process”; the cost of an emission allowance has been greatly affected by fluctuations in oil and gas prices; and the ETS’ vulnerability to swings in energy markets “raises possible market manipulation issues,” particularly in light of the proliferation of options and futures contracts. According to CRS, fears of that sort of manipulation may prompt Congress to “consider whether the government needs enhanced regulatory and oversight authority over such instruments.”
An influential coalition of labor and environmental organizations this week sent a letter to members of the Senate urging them to keep climate legislation at the top of their agenda and outlined priorities for what should be included in a “comprehensive” package. The Blue Green Alliance, which comprises nine organizations, including the Sierra Club and United Steelworkers, says a climate bill must include both a strong cap on greenhouse gas emissions and a renewable electricity standard. In addition, the alliance outlines a number of job-related measures—such as tax credits and other incentives for “clean energy” manufacturing and building weatherization—for possible inclusion in a climate bill, while reiterating its support for a “border-adjustment mechanism” similar to the one included in the House-passed climate legislation.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is justifying its requested $47.2 million increase for its fiscal year 2011 budget, totaling $216 million, in part because of the commission’s ongoing work in advising lawmakers about… more
The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced its intent to create a climate service that would house a wide variety of climate change data, which both the public and policymakers… more
Utah legislators say they are concerned about potential cataclysmic impacts to their state’s economy from climate change—or rather, from future EPA regulations seeking to address it.
Citing concerns about the effects EPA… more
California has adopted the use of ground-breaking new technology to monitor methane emission, which is a potent greenhouse (GHG), according to a recent story in the New… more