Climate change bill passes, with five-year punt on indirect land use change

In Washington, the US House of Representatives passed the climate bill by a 219-212 margin. The bill now moves to the US Senate where it is sure to attract fierce Republican opposition, and will likely require 60 votes to avoid procedural roadblocks. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he aimed to deliver the signed bill by the fall.

Meanwhile, House Republican leader John Boehner called the measure “the biggest job-killing bill that has ever been on the floor of the House of Representatives,” while Nancy Pelosi said that the bill was about “jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs.”  Among leading Republicans, only California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger offered support, saying “Although this bill is not perfect, it is a significant step in the national fight against climate change and it puts the United States in a position of leadership in international climate negotiations that must produce a global solution to this global problem.”

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Bob Dinneen congratulated the House for “taking the first important step toward a national policy to reduce carbon emissions.”

Eight Republicans in the House voted for the bill, while 44 Democrats opposed it.

The 1201 page bill will reduce carbon emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by 2050.

The indirect land use change compromise also reportedly gives more say to the USDA in determining carbon offsets in the farm sector, from practices such as installing  anaerobic digesters, employing no-till farming practices or planting more trees.

According to a report in Agriculture.com, the compromise would:

1. The USDA would run a farmer cap-and trade program, not the EPA.
2. Credits for previous installation of carbon-reducing technology or new practices would be given back to 2001.
3. The EPA cannot use “international indirect land use change” for six years (The Hill is reporting five) when estimating the emissions of biodiesel or ethanol.

Under the proposed compromise, the requirement on international indirect land use change will be removed from the 2007 EISA Act by amendment and a group such as  the National Academies of Science will be asked to review the science. After a five-year review, Congress will have one year to independently study the issue before EPA could issue rulemaking.

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