Corporations, environmental groups agree on major climate initiatives

The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) Blueprint provides specific guidelines for the Administration and Congress to enact legislation that protects the environment and helps the transition to a vibrant, low-carbon economy.

Washington, DC – The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) has unveiled a comprehensive and detailed set of integrated policy recommendations for developing legislation that would create an environmentally effective and economically sustainable national climate protection program.
The landmark document– “ A Blueprint for Legislative Action ”– was developed through two years of intensive analysis and consensus-building among 26 corporations and five environmental organizations. Also read:

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“In the past, the U.S. has proven that we have the will, the capabilities and the courage to invest in innovation– even in difficult times,” said Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE. “Today, cap-and-trade legislation is a crucial component in fueling the bold clean energy investments necessary to catapult the U.S. again to preeminence in global energy and environmental policy, strengthen the country’s international competitiveness, and create millions of rewarding new American jobs.”
USCAP believes that strong climate legislation is a critical element of any effort to stimulate investment and innovation in low-carbon technologies. The Blueprint provides specific guidelines for the Administration and Congress to enact legislation that both protects the environment and facilitates the necessary transition to a vibrant, low-carbon economy. That includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% of 2005 levels by 2050 through an economy-wide cap-and-trade program.
USCAP noted that every year of delay in controlling emissions increases the risk of unavoidable consequences that could necessitate even steeper greenhouse gas reductions in the future, at substantially greater economic cost and social disruption.
The Blueprint details steps for creating a mandatory, economy-wide cap-and-trade program, coupled with cost containment measures and complementary policies addressing a federal technology research development and deployment program, coal technology, transportation, and building and energy efficiency.
Expanding significantly on USCAP’s 2007 groundbreaking Call for Action, the Blueprint includes an aggressive emission reduction schedule, further details on the scope of coverage for the cap-and-trade program, and recommendations for how to include as much of the U.S. economy under the cap as administratively and politically feasible.
Other highlights

  • Offsets should

  • The distributionlueprint identifies principles to guide the fair and equitable allocation of allowance value  to mitigate costs to consumers and impacted sectors of the economy.

  • In additionensure that actual reductions  in emissions occur across the economy.

USCAP Members are Alcoa, AIG, Boston Scientific, BP America, Caterpillar, Chrysler, ConocoPhillips, John Deere, Dow, Duke Energy, DuPont, Environmental Defense Fund, Exelon, Ford, FPL Group, GE, GM, Johnson & Johnson, Marsh, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, NRG Energy, PepsiCo, Pew Center On Global Climate Change, PG&E, PNM Resources, Rio Tinto, Shell, Siemens, World Resources Institute, Xerox.
A summary overview of the Blueprint for Legislative Action as well as the full text of USCAP’s recommendations are available online at www.us-cap.org .
– Edited by David Greenfield , editorial director
Control Engineering News Desk
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