Next US Congress to drive climate innovations

01 October 2008 00:12  [Source: ICIS news]

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ICIS news)--The new US Congress that will convene in January 2009 likely will pass climate change legislation that will control local emissions but also drive innovation, an industry authority said on Tuesday.

Interest in climate change legislation, such as “cap and trade” emissions controls, have gained traction among US lawmakers and will likely be reflected in policies in the new year and in 2010, according to Tom Werkema, vice president for regulatory activities at French chemicals major Arkema.

In US national elections on 4 November, global warming advocates are expected to make gains in the Congress that will convene in January, and a new president more accommodating to climate change legislation may be in the White House.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Polyurethanes 2008 Technical Conference, Werkema noted that the US House Committee on Energy and Commerce has published four white papers on climate change requirements, including a cap and trade proposal.

Before the end of this year, he said, the committee plans to publish a “discussion draft” of legislation that will address the application of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

The draft bill eventually could serve as an outline for comprehensive programmes to address industrial emissions by sector and region, he added.

State-level efforts to address emissions reductions also have been seen in 39 US states, with 24 of those already developing or implementing legislative mandates for emissions cutbacks.

One such plan, the California Air Resources Board's Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), is considered a benchmark that could influence national legislation when a new Congress and president take office in January, Werkema said.

However, he said no great behavioural shift can be brought about overnight.

The global climate change problem took 150 years to develop and could take another century and a half to correct, Werkema said.

 

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By: Landon Feller
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