CEI Touts Study of Non-Existent Climate Policy

Earlier this week, the Competitive Enterprise Institute posted a set of documents (PDF) it obtained via the Freedom of Information Act that it’s touting as evidence that the Obama administration secretly believes that climate change legislation will cost the average American $1,761. Problem is, these hot documents don’t actually More…

Duke Energy CEO Questions Viability of ‘Clean’ Coal Technology, Future of Coal

Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, raised questions on Wednesday about the viability of capturing and storing carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants underground, and suggested that coal may not even be part of the energy mix by 2050.

“I actually can see a future where coal is not in More…

Reid Indicates Climate Vote Could Wait Until 2010

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday signaled that he may be willing to push back a vote on a climate bill until 2010.

“So, you know, we are going to have a busy, busy time the rest of this year,” Reid told reporters. “And, of course, More…

Bingaman Looks to Influence Cap-and-Trade Debate

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) on Tuesday staked out a role for himself in cap-and-trade policy, hosting a hearing on how to prevent price volatility in a cap-and-trade system.

It was the first of two hearings Bingaman scheduled this week. A second, on Thursday, will focus More…

Obama Team Announces First Rules on Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Obama administration on Tuesday outlined a new set of proposed rules for automobile fuel efficiency and emissions. The new rules follow an  announcement in May that the administration had reached a deal with automakers and state governments to create a unified national standard.

“This action will give our More…

Health Care Foils Climate. Again.

A coalition of major environmental groups was planning a big rally outside the Capitol at noon on Thursday to encourage Congress to pass a climate and energy bill this year. But now President Obama is planning to give a big health care address at the University of Maryland at that More…

EIA Finds U.S. Is Already Halfway to House Climate Bill’s Emission Reduction Target

The Energy Information Administration last week released its monthly report on the short-term energy outlook for the U.S., in which it found that the bad economy and decreased energy consumption will likely reduce the country’s total carbon dioxide emissions by 6 percent this year.

This means the United States More…

Coal Companies Spend Peanuts to Deliver CCS Technology

Following up on our earlier post about senators’ requests for more funding for carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) technology in the Senate bill, we were wondering just how much of its own money the coal industry spends on CCS.

Turns out, the average coal company spends very little. More …

Northeast Cap-and-Trade Program Offers Lessons for Congress

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – a ten-state experiment in crafting a U.S. cap-and-trade program – will mark its one-year anniversary on Sept. 25. Last week the group, known as RGGI, held its fifth auction of pollution permits, an event that highlighted one of the flaws in the program thus far – which is, they have more permits available on the market than are actually needed, which has caused a major drop in permit prices.

The Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capitol blog has the basics. As expected, the price of permits hit an record low last week, caused by both the over-abundant credits and the falling demand. Credits sold for $2.19 per ton, down 30 percent from the last sale in June, when they went for $3.23 per ton.

This is interesting because RGGI is essentially the Northeast’s pilot project for a larger federal program that Congress is considering enacting. There are also several lessons here. More …

Senators Deliver Coal Wish-Lists to Committee Chairs

Late last week, a group of eight senators delivered lists of proposed measures to protect and promote coal in the pending climate and energy legislation to the committee chairs charged with authoring the bill. The group calls for more funding to promote the development and deployment of carbon-capture-and-storage (CCS) technology More…