Washington (Platts)--16Apr2008

A key Democrat in the US House of Representatives said Wednesday that
President Bush's speech on climate change, which is scheduled later Wednesday,
will help lay the groundwork that would allow an emissions trading program to
pass his subcommittee and eventually get signed into law.

"That statement, I believe, is going to send a positive signal," said
Rick Boucher of Virginia, who heads the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee
on Energy and Air Quality. Boucher's subcommittee is the starting point for
climate legislation in the House.

"The statement that I think will be coming from the president this
afternoon, I believe will be very helpful in helping to create that bipartisan
cooperation," he said. "If it does, you will see a draft emerge of climate
change legislation very quickly from our committee."

Boucher remained firm on having an economy-wide cap-and-trade program
that would include the power sector, transportation and industry. He said it
was insufficient to aim for a power utility-only program, which is something
that the White House could suggest.

"I don't think we ought to be satisfied with addressing one third of the
economy," he told reporters Wednesday outside of an event the Alliance to Save
Energy hosted in Washington.

In his speech on climate change, which is scheduled for Wednesday
afternoon at the White House Rose Garden, President Bush is expected to
announce general emissions reduction goals, with little in the way of firm
policy proposals.

The Senate is working on a bill that would reduce greenhouse gas
emissions 70% of 2005 levels by 2050. Boucher has said that his goal -- 60% to
80% of current levels by 2050 -- will be more palatable to Republicans because
the intermediate goals are less stringent than in the Senate bill.

Boucher said his bill will have modest emissions reductions out to 2025
based on the pace of development for carbon capture and storage at coal-fired
power plants.

--Alexander Duncan, alexander_duncan@platts.com