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 US House of Representatives passes the Climate Change
Bill; President Obama encourages Senate to follow suit
The US House of Representatives has, on Friday,
June 26, 2009, passed the US Climate Change Bill, otherwise referred to as
the "American Clean Energy and Security Act".
President Barack Obama,
in his weekly speech, praised the House of Representatives for passing the
energy bill, which he has also tagged "jobs bill". He said "This historic piece of legislation will
not just lessen our dependence on foreign oil, but also spark a clean energy
transformation in our economy that will create millions of new American jobs
that pay well and cannot be outsourced. Clean energy and the jobs it creates are
critical to building a new foundation for our economy".
The goal of the new legislation is to reduce carbon
dioxide and other
greenhouse gases by 17% of the 2005 levels by 2020 and 83% by
2050. This will be achieved by promoting
renewable
energy sources of
Solar,
Wind,
Geothermal,
Clean Coal,
Safe Nuclear Plants, etc over the traditional fossil fuels sources. As stated
by the President, the Act is also expected to create several
green jobs and reduce America's dependence on oil imports.
The cost of
implementation of the legislation would be born by the polluters, said President Obama.
On this he said "This legislation has also been written carefully to address the
concerns that many have expressed in the past. Instead of increasing the
deficit, it is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon
emissions". This suggests that the legislation is employing the
emissions trading
or the
Cap and Trade
system of curbing greenhouse gases emissions.
President Obama called on the
Senators to show courage and pass the bill as did the house of representatives.
He said "My call to every senator, as well as to every American, is this:
We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past.
Don't believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a
contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth."
The new legislation has several implications for different
segments of the economy. Industries that rely mainly on fossil fuel energy
sources feel they will be significantly affected by the new Act if it passes
unto Law. Household expenses could also increase because companies producing
with fossil based fuels could pass on the additional costs to consumers.
For further details can be found on:
American
Clean Energy and Security Act
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