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Last updated 1/1/08
Notable Quote
"Climate change is one of the major tests of our generation. It's a challenge that asks us, will we stand by while drought and famine, storms and floods overtake our planet? Or will we look back at today and say that this was the moment when we took a stand? That this was the moment when we began to turn things around. The climate changes we are experiencing are already causing us harm. But in the end, it will not be us who deal with its most devastating effects. It will be our children, and our grandchildren." (Prepared Statement to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Jan. 30, 2007)Climate Change Policies as 2008 Presidential Candidate
Unless otherwise noted the candidate’s initiatives/statements are from their Climate Action Plan and/or website.Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction Targets (20 of 25)
- Co-sponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act (“Sanders-Boxer”, S.309): Reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. By 2030 reduce by 1/3 of 80% below 1990 levels; by 2040, reduce by 2/3 of 80% below 1990 levels; and by 2050, reduce to a level that is 80% below 1990 levels.
- Similar targets also included in his plan (see below): 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Will start reducing emissions immediately in his administration by establishing strong annual reduction targets, and he'll also implement a mandate of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
Comprehensive Climate Action Plan
- Co-sponsor Sanders-Boxer.
- Meeting Energy Needs from the Barack Obama for President website.
- Summary of goals:
- Invest $150 billion over the next ten years to develop and deploy climate friendly energy supplies, protect our existing manufacturing base and create millions of new jobs.
- Improve energy efficiency to reduce energy intensity of our economy by 50 percent by 2030.
- Reduce dependence on foreign oil and reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030.
- Make the U.S. a leader in the global effort to combat climate change by leading a new international global warming partnership.
Renewable Portfolio Standard for Electricity (10 of 12.5)
- Included in Sanders-Boxer.
- In addition, Obama will:
- Establish a 25% federal Renewable Portfolio Standard to require that 25% of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind and geothermal by 2025. (Sanders-Boxer is 20% by 2020)
- Ensure that at least 30 percent of the federal government's electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
- Double federal science and research funding for clean energy projects including those that make use of our biomass, solar and wind resources.
- Increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training.
- Double our nation's commitment to energy R&D.
- Extend the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for 5 years to encourage the production of renewable energy.
Vehicle GHG Emissions Standards (20 of 25)
- Included in Sanders-Boxer.
- In addition, Obama will:
- Double fuel economy standards within 18 years - will establish concrete targets for annual CAFÉ increases while giving industry the flexibility to meet those targets.3
- Provide support for domestic automakers - will provide retooling tax credits and loan guarantees for domestic auto plants and parts manufacturers.
GHG Caps and Market System for Reductions (12.5 of 12.5)
- Included in Sanders-Boxer.
- In addition, Obama will:
- Establish a 100% allowance auction - cap-and-trade system which will require all pollution credits to be auctioned.
- Permit international offsets under the carbon cap to promote the transfer of low carbon energy to developing countries.
- Some of the revenue generated by auctioning allowances will be used to support the development and deployment of clean energy, invest in energy efficiency improvements and address transition costs, including helping American workers affected. . and helping lowerincome Americans . . .by expanding the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, expanding weatherization grants for low-income individuals, and establishing a dedicated fund to assist low-income Americans.
Alternative Fuels Programs (12.5 of 12.5)
- Included in Sanders-Boxer.
- In addition, Obama will:
- Reduce oil consumption by at least 35%, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030.
- Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to speed the introduction of lowcarbon non-petroleum fuels (Requires fuels suppliers to reduce the carbon their fuel emits by 10% by 2020).
- Ensure that all new vehicles have Flex Fuel Vehicle capability by the end of his first term in office.
- Seek to establish a requirement to produce at least 60 billion gallons of biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, by 2030.
- Invest federal resources, including tax incentives, cash prizes and government contracts into developing the most promising technologies with the goal of getting the first two billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol into the system by 2013.
- Create a number of incentives for local communities to invest in their biofuels refineries.
- Provide an additional subsidy per gallon of ethanol produced from new facilities that have a minimum of 25 percent local capital, and will provide additional loan guarantees for advanced ethanol facilities with local investment.
- Invest in advanced vehicle technology that utilizes lightweight materials and new engines.
- Expand consumer tax incentives by lifting the 60,000 per-manufacturer cap on buyer tax credits.
Energy Efficiency Programs (12.5 of 12.5)
- Included in Sanders-Boxer.
- In addition, Obama will:
- Set a national goal of reducing the energy intensity of our economy 50% by 2030.
- Ensure that all new federal buildings are zero-emissions by 2025, and . . . all new federal buildings are 40% more efficient within the next five years.
- Retrofit existing federal buildings . . . and seek to improve their efficiency by 25 percent within 5 years.
- Overhaul the process for appliances and provide more resources to his Department of Energy so it implements regular updates for efficiency standards.
- Establish a goal of making all new buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030.
- Establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50 percent and existing building efficiency by 25 percent over the next decade to help meet the 2030 goal.
- Create a competitive grant program to award those states and localities that take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency, and provide a federal match for those states with leading-edge public benefits funds that support energy efficiency retrofits of existing buildings.
- Work to "flip" incentives to state and local utilities by ensuring companies get increased profits for improving energy efficiency, rather than higher energy consumption.
- Implement legislation that phases out traditional incandescent light bulbs by 2014.
- Invest federal money to leverage additional state and private sector funds to help create a digitally connected power grid.
Other
- Create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth. The program will provide youth participants with energy efficiency and environmental service opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in their communities, while also providing them with practical skills and experience in important career fields of expected high-growth employment.
- Establish a federal investment program to help manufacturing centers modernize and help Americans learn the new skills they may need to produce green products.
- Build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks, and will also recommit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country.
- Require governors and local leaders in our metropolitan areas to make "energy conservation" a required part of their planning for the expenditure of federal transportation funds.
- Reform the tax code to make benefits for driving and public transit or ridesharing equal.
- The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change process is the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem and an Obama administration will work constructively within it.
- Create a Global Energy Forum -- based on the G8+5, which included all G-8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- of the world's largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.
- Create a Technology Transfer program within the Department of Energy dedicated to exporting climate-friendly technologies, including green buildings, clean coal and advanced automobiles, to developing counties to help them combat climate change.
- Believes we should use existing organizations, like NATO, to make energy security a shared global goal. Should take steps to engage the largest new consumers, China and India, including by inviting them to join the International Energy Agency.
- By offering incentives to maintain forests and manage them sustainably, the United States can play a leadership role in dealing with climate change. In addition we must develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers, and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands, or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- Work to ensure that existing coal facilities are retrofitted with carbon capture and sequestration technology as soon as it is commercially available.
- Use whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.
- It is unlikely that we can meet our aggressive climate goals if we eliminate nuclear power from the table. Obama will lead federal efforts to look for a safe, long-term disposal solution based on objective, scientific analysis. In the meantime, Obama will develop requirements to ensure that the waste stored at current reactor sites is contained using the most advanced dry-cask storage technology available. Barack Obama believes that Yucca Mountain is not an option.
- Create a Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund to fill a gap in U.S. technology development. This Fund will partner with existing investment funds and our National Laboratories to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S. The Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund will be modeled on the Central Intelligence Agency In-Q-Tel program. Will invest $10 billion in this fund for five years, and reinvest profits back into the fund.
Summary (87.5 of 100)
- Targets: Supports the Sanders-Boxer climate legislation.
- Comprehensive Climate Action Plan: Supports the Sanders-Boxer climate legislationand adds many additional measures that may help to achieve the GHG reduction goals, including a mandatory approach to cap-and trade (and 100% auction of pollution permits).
- Industrial/Electricity: Supports the Sanders-Boxer climate legislation and a reduction of the energy
intensity of the U.S. economy of 50% by 2030, a measure that is likely to help achieve the overall
goals of Obama’s plan, especially in the near term. - Transportation: Supports the Sanders-Boxer climate legislation, and his national Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) is an innovative means of dealing with the inevitable consumption of petroleum fuels for the foreseeable future. Like other candidates, Obama may rely too much on ethanol, which is currently produced from feedstocks that do not substantially reduce GHGs.
