Climate Change Legislation

On July 22, the congressional attempt to pass comprehensive climate change legislation officially ended for the year. That day the World Resources Institute unveiled a report assessing carbon reductions possible under existing federal and state law.

For possibly the first time, the EPA has issued a report the directly links climate change mitigation with local land use strategies, says Patty Salkin.

The Senate will introduce on Sept. 30 its companion bill to the Waxman-Markey climate change legislation that has already passed the House of Representatives. Both bills rely on 'cap & trade' to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Reps. Mack (CA), Kirk (IL) and Reichert (WA) are among a small group of Republicans who voted for the recent climate change bill. It turns out these eight are also supporters of transit. Streetsblog makes the connection.

Cap and trade is the topic du jour in climate change circles. A new report from CCAP makes the economic case for using those revenues to promote smart growth that reduces transportation emissions though VMT reductions.

A recent panel at the VerdeXchange Conference in Los Angeles featuring discussion by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon) and former Speaker of the California Assembly Robert Hertzberg on the state's role in influencing federal climate change legislation.

The Waxman-Markey bill doesn't apportion the revenues received from the sale of carbon credits, a key issue yet to be decided. Renewable electricity, greener cars, low carbon fuels, and a carbon reduction goal are all parts of this comprehensive bill