President Obama’s final budget proposal reasserts the administration’s determination to auction 100% of emission permits in a yet-to-be-passed climate change bill.
The $3.55 trillion budget released on Thursday keeps this measure, despite pressure from some Democratic legislators to give away as much as 50% of emissions allowances to industries, in an effort to reduce the financial impact on companies and consumer.
In recent weeks, the President has suggested he may be flexible on this point, but White house budget director Peter Orszag said the budget proposal will retain the 100% figure, which is expected to create $646 billion in revenues, which the administration plans to reinvest in numerous domestic projects.
However, the prospect of a Climate Change bill passing through Congress this year is lessening, according to a Reuters report at the link below.
DOE and EPA Budgets
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released details concerning their 2010 budget requests.
In addition to $38.7 billion the DOE will invest as part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the fiscal year 2010 budget cuts more than $200 million in oil and gas company research that the administration says the companies can and do fund on their own.
Other DOE budget highlights include:
- $475 million for a variety of renewable sources of electrical generation
- $671 million to accelerate the deployment of energy conservation measures
- $238 million for the building technology program
- $75 million for State Energy Program grants
- $220 million for weatherization assistance
- $174 million to invest in research and development for a smart electrical grid
- $333 million to develop lithium-ion batteries, plug-in hybrids, drive-train electrification, as well as test new fuels blends
- $180 million for carbon capture and sequestration research, development and deployment
- $383 million for research and development of advanced nuclear technology and fuel cycle technologies
Highligts from the EPA budget include:
- $3.9 billion for clean water infrastructure
- $475 million for initiatives to clean up the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, Anacostia River, Puget Sound, San Francisco Bay, Lake Champlain and other large waterbodies
- $17 million for the greenhouse gas (GHG) registry
- $1.3 billion for the cleanup and use of hazardous waste sites
- $55 million for an enhanced toxics program to reduce chemical risks
- $842 million for science and technology
- $600 million for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance program
- $1.1 billion for environmental program grants
White House budget figures can be found at the link below.
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