Clean Tech Policy Update -- June 24

News Summary

v   Top Stories

• Dems Lack Consensus on Climate Bill, Politico
• California Qualifies Ballot Prop to Suspend State’s Climate & Energy Laws, LA Times
• Senate Rejects Bid to Stop EPA Carbon Regulation, Associated Press

v   Government & Politics

• Deadly Silence on Carbon Caps, Politico
• Lindsay Graham Leaves Void in Climate Debate, Politico
• White House, Lieberman Considering Utility-Only Bill, NY Times
• Drilling Ban Blocked, Obama Seeks Alternative, NY Times
• California Bill Would Lift RPS to 33%, LA Times
• Jerry Brown Unveils Plan for Clean-Energy Jobs in Silicon Valley, San Jose Mercury News
• GOP’s Crude Response to BP, Politico
• Fiorina’s HP Mishaps Prompt Technology Executives to Back Boxer, Businessweek

v   Science, Jobs, & Investment

• 5 Million Green Jobs for California, East County Magazine
• November Calif. Ballot Initiatives Impact Clean Tech, San Jose Mercury News
• Taking on the Tool Belt Recession: Energy Efficiency Retrofits, Ctr for Am. Progress
• The Climate Majority, NY Times

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UPDATE ON CALIFORNIA’S BALLOT PROPOSITION TO KILL AB32

Ballot proposition qualifies as both sides seek the resources to tell their story.

Source: Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs (www.stopdirtyenergyprop.com)

http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1323890&view=late1

More …

CALIFORNIA'S CLEAN ENERGY &  CLEAN TECH SUCCESS HUB

WWW.CaBRIGHTSPOT.COM

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CALENDAR

June 28^th / AB32 Clean Tech Briefings in Los Angeles

July 14^th / Intersolar & SolarTech Conference in San Francisco

Articles

v   Top Stories

In his first address from the Oval Office, President Obama called for a new national energy strategy: “The time to embrace a clean energy future is now.  Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash American innovation and seize control of our own destiny…I say we can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy – because the long-term costs to our economy, our national security, and our environment are far greater.” ~President Obama, June 15, 2010

Dems Lack Consensus on Climate Bill / Politico, June 19

“Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada dedicated two meetings to a “full, frank discussion” of three competing proposals for overhauling the nation’s energy policies and trimming greenhouse gas emissions. Reid insisted that he had made no decisions on whether to advance a climate and energy bill that includes a controversial price on greenhouse gas emissions. For now, Democrats don't have the votes to pass such a plan and are still casting about for a formula that can attract moderates on both sides of the aisle. 'I'd support it, but I don't see 60 votes for it,' said Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Sens. Kerry and Lieberman pulled out all the stops in their presentations even before the meeting started. Their staff plunked down on every Democratic senator's chair a report from President Obama's pollster showing public support for placing carbon caps on the nation's smokestacks and tailpipes in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. They also hosted a pre-caucus luncheon for about 20 Democrats and one Republican, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, that included presentations on the need for a carbon cap from General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and top brass from Honeywell, Dow Chemical, Vantage Point Venture Capital and Applied Materials.

California Qualifies Ballot Prop to Suspend State’s Climate Laws / LATimes, June 23

California headed for a high-stakes battle over global warming Tuesday, as an oil industry-backed measure to suspend the state's aggressive climate-change law qualified for the November ballot. The fight will pit the state's powerful environmental organizations and clean-tech businesses against the oil and manufacturing industries. It also arrays many conservative political leaders, including the GOP nominee for governor, Meg Whitman, against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a fellow Republican who regards the global warming law as a key part of his legacy.

Senate Rejects Bid to Stop EPA Carbon Regulation / Associated Press, June 10

“In a boost for the president on global warming, the Senate on Thursday rejected a challenge to Obama administration rules aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other big polluters,” reports the AP.  “The defeated resolution would have denied the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to move ahead with the rules, crafted under the federal Clean Air Act. With President Barack Obama's broader clean energy legislation struggling to gain a foothold in the Senate, the vote took on greater significance as a signal of where lawmakers stand on dealing with climate change.”

v   Government & Politics

Deadly Silence on Carbon Caps / Politico, June 15

“President Barack Obama pleaded for Congress to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation, but he may have put the dagger into his long-sought plans for a cap on greenhouse gas emissions by opening the door for alternatives. In the first Oval Office speech of his presidency, ,,, Obama never even uttered the words 'carbon,' 'greenhouse gases,' 'global warming' or 'cap and trade.' He used the word 'climate' only once - and then only to acknowledge that the House last year passed a 'a strong and comprehensive energy and climate bill.'”

Lindsay Graham Leaves Void in Climate Debate, Politico, June 24

It’s become a bit of a parlor game in Washington to guess at Sen. Lindsey Graham’s true motivation for abandoning negotiations on comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

White House, Lieberman Considering Utility-Only Bill / New York Times, June 21

The Obama administration and a key player in Senate climate negotiations would consider a bill that caps greenhouse gas emissions from just the electric utility sector, which may face better political odds than an effort to cap emissions across the economy.

Drilling Ban Blocked; U.S. Will Issue New Order / NY Times, June 22

After a federal judge blocked a moratorium on deep-water drilling, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he would issue a new order with additional information showing why it was necessary.

California Bill Would Lift RPS to 33% / LA Times, June 24

A compromise bill in the Legislature would require privately and publicly owned electric utilities to generate a third of their power from wind, solar and other clean sources by 2020.

GOP’s Crude Response to BP / Politico, June 16

Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton wants to make sure offshore drilling keeps going strong, yet Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) wishes her colleagues in both parties would address the crisis directly rather than using it to advance pre-conceived notions about the future of energy policy.

November Calif. Ballot Initiatives Impact Clean Tech / San Jose Mercury News, June 15

Forces wanting to preserve California's AB32 law and its requirement for cutting carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 have their own campaign committee, dubbed Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs, co-chaired by former Secretary of State George Shultz, who often backs conservative politicians and policies. Among its members are the League of Women Voters, Google, the Audubon Society, labor unions including the Teamsters and the California Nurses Association, Levi Strauss and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

Fiorina’s HP Mishaps Prompt Technology Executives to Back Boxer / Businessweek, June 18

“Carly Fiorina, the former head of Hewlett-Packard Co., faces a wall of opposition from her Silicon Valley peers as she campaigns to win one of California’s U.S. Senate seats,” reports Ari Levy.  “Her victory in the Republican primary last week puts Fiorina up against Democrat incumbent Barbara Boxer, a senator since 1993. Boxer has the financial support of local executives, including Cisco Systems Inc.’s John Chambers, Oracle Corp.’s Larry Ellison, Netflix Inc.’s Reed Hastings, and John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.” See also, Politico, June 24

Jerry Brown Unveils Clean-Energy Jobs Plan / San Jose Mercury News, June 15

Build a "California solar highway" by placing gleaming solar panels along the banks of freeways. Put projects on the "fast track" to get green energy to consumers sooner. Create nearly a half-million jobs by generating 20,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2010. Attorney General Jerry Brown, the Democratic candidate for governor, came to Silicon Valley on June 15 to announce those and other parts of his new "clean-energy jobs plan."

v   Business, Science, & Investment

China’s Clean Energy Push / Center for Am. Progress, June 2010

China has made large-scale investments in clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure. These signal China’s clear desire to lead the world in clean energy technology production, deployment, and eventually innovation. It also underscores the need for the United States to move aggressively to articulate our own clean energy strategy—one that builds on our historic strengths in innovation, entrepreneurship, and high-value added manufacturing.

Taking on the Tool Belt Recession: Energy Efficiency Retrofits / Center for Am. Progress

Today, 2.1 million construction workers are out of a job. Jobs are down 38 percent since 2006 in residential construction alone. This “tool belt recession” in the construction trades spills over to other parts of the economy as well. Because of declining demand for construction many manufacturing industry sectors that produce building products are currently operating at close to half their production capacity … This memo looks at data from the Census Bureau, the Federal Reserve, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to demonstrate the urgent conditions facing blue-collar workers in America today and to show the capacity of the home performance retrofit industry to quickly scale in creating good American jobs in construction.

The Climate Majority: A Survey / New York Times, June 8

“In our survey,” observes Jon Krosnick, “which was financed by a grant to Stanford from the National Science Foundation, 1,000 randomly selected American adults were interviewed by phone between June 1 and Monday. When respondents were asked if they thought that the earth’s temperature probably had been heating up over the last 100 years, 74 percent answered affirmatively. And 75 percent of respondents said that human behavior was substantially responsible for any warming that has occurred.”

CONGRESSIONAL CLIMATE & ENERGY LEGISLATION

The American Power Act (The Kerry-Lieberman Climate Bill)

The legislation aims to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases by 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and more than 80 percent by 2050. For the first time it would set a price on carbon emissions for large polluters such as coal-fired power plants. Rates initially would range from $12 per ton of carbon emissions to $25 per ton, depending on market prices. Restrictions would not take effect until 2013 for power plants and transportation fuels, and 2016 for manufacturers. Allowances would be granted to local electricity companies, which would be required to use them to help ratepayers. In addition, a separate consumer relief provision would provide rebates to eligible families. Kerry and Lieberman said the bill would exempt farms and most small and medium-sized businesses, concentrating efforts on the largest polluters. – Associated Press, May 12