“A large cap-and-trade bill isn’t going to go ahead at this time,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told reporters Wednesday. But energy efficiency measures to encourage the growth of green jobs may be included in a new economic stimulus bill, according to a Bloomberg report.
The election of Republican Scott Brown to the Senate from Massachusetts seems to have put the final nail in the coffin of climate change legislation--at least for this year.
However, it is important to note that not all environmentalists supported cap-and-trade, and many felt that the legislation being consideredin Congress would have done more harm than good.
Democratic Congressional leaders are likely to put together a package of incentives to boost cleantech manufacturing and the so-called cash-for-caulkers initiative to create energy efficiency jobs in home efficiency retrofits. These could be added to the Senate version of a jobs bill passed by the House before the holidays.
Beyond that, Congress may choose to take up a straight energy bill, if they ever finish with health care legislation. The Senate Energy Committee last year approved a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) that would require utilities to provide up to 15% renewable power.
Read the full Bloomberg report at the link below.
