Updated: Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill

Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica had the following statement in response to the Kerry-Boxer draft climate bill:

"We commend Senators Boxer and Kerry for their dedication to
combating the important problem of climate change but we cannot support
a bill that fails to solve the problem. Overall the draft is riddled
with loopholes and does not go far enough to protect the planet.

Areas of concern include:

* Emissions Cap: Science
demands at least a 40% reduction in emissions, compared to 1990, by
2020. The draft bill has emissions reductions targets of about 20
percent below 2005 levels - nowhere near what a fair U.S. contribution
to a global emissions reductions should be to avert climate catastrophe

* Offset Loopholes: The
extensive use of unreliable offsets in this draft bill, up to 2 billion
tons a year, seriously undermines the integrity of the already weak
emissions cap and delays the health, environmental, and economic
benefits of shifting to a low-carbon economy.

* Methane Regulations: The
House-passed bill would require emissions from landfills, coal mines
and natural gas pipelines to be regulated, but under the Kerry-Boxer
draft, these sources can voluntarily capture methane in exchange for
offset payments.

* Markets Regulations: The bill
would creative a massive, new and complex commodities market with
almost no specifics on how that market would be regulated.

* Subsidizes Dirty Energy: The
bill gives special subsidies to expensive, unsafe and environmentally
damaging technologies such as nuclear reactors and carbon capture and
sequestration and capture for coal plants, not to mention ambiguous
incentives for biofuels.

Friends of the Earth's policy team will be taking a deeper look at
the bill in further days and release a more detailed analysis at a
later date so that we can work with the Senate to pass legislation that
will fairly and effectively address the problem of climate change."

**Upon on a more thorough reading of the draft bill, we acknowledge
that the Clean Air Act section of our previous statement was not an
accurate reflection of the bill's text.