Nov. 21

Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., plans to make global warming legislation a priority next year, with the first hearing likely occurring in January.

The hearing will address how global warming legislation can benefit the economy and create jobs, Boxer said in a news conference Jan. 20.

In addition, Boxer unveiled plans to introduce two pieces of legislation in January. The first bill would establish a grant program that would make available as much as $15 million annually to develop new technologies promoting clean energy, including advanced biofuels.

"Clean energy means green jobs," Boxer said, citing a report from the U.S. Conference of Mayors that estimates another 4.2 million green jobs could be added to the economy by 2038. "That could account for 10 percent of job growth over the next 30 years," she said.

The second piece of legislation would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to create a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions that would meet the goals established by president-elect Barack Obama. He has called for reducing emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and reducing them an additional 80 percent by 2050.

"This bill will reflect the strong partnership we will have with the new administration and will focus on achieving the emissions reductions needed while restoring the economy," Boxer said.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Bruce Geiselman at (330) 865-6172 or bgeiselman@crain.com

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