The Principles of Change

It’s been a long hot summer for climate legislation, but some on the Hill are looking forward to the change in seasons. On July 9, the Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), released a set of four strategies to reduce GHG emissions and 10 principles for effective climate change legislation.

The Senator’s principles clear the air after the fallout from the Lieberman-Warner bill, which died on the floor this past June. Calling for realistic and straightforward climate change legislation, the Senator addresses the concerns of diverse interest groups, and calls attention to some of the more controversial issues (cap and trade, the Clean Air Act) that have challenged consensus in the past. In the document, the Senator pledges to work with the new president to achieve the G-8’s challenging target of reducing GHG emissions to 50 percent of current levels by the year 2050.

Taken as ground rules for future climate change legislation, Senator Bingaman’s principles could provide either an Obama or a McCain Administration with the no-nonsense approach needed to navigate the uncharted waters that lie ahead.