Climate Change Legislation in the 109th Congress

Publication Date: August 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Environment

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Abstract:

Climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are an issue in the 109th Congress, as they have been in past Congresses. Bills directly addressing climate change issues range from those focused primarily on climate change research to comprehensive emissions cap-and-trade programs for the six greenhouse gases covered under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Additional bills focus on GHG reporting and registries, or on power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, as part of wider controls on pollutant emissions.

Within several broad categories, the bills vary in their approaches to climate change issues. For example, some bills covering research issues focus solely on modeling the effects of future climate change, whereas others address the development of monitoring technologies. Bills focusing on technology deployment do so through tax incentives and credit-based programs within the United States or by promoting deployment in developing countries. Bills with greenhouse gas registries may be voluntary or mandatory and vary in the entities covered and the gases registered. Bills with emission reduction requirements also vary in the entities covered, the gases limited, and the target emissions levels.

Most notably, on August 8, 2005, President Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58, H.R. 6). Among other provisions, Title XVI of the bill establishes programs to promote the development and deployment of technologies to reduce greenhouse gas intensity.

This report briefly discusses the basic concepts on which these bills are based and compares major provisions of the bills in each of the following categories: climate change research, technology deployment, GHG reporting and registries, and emissions reduction programs. This report will be updated as events warrant.