WASHINGTON — A Senate blueprint for tackling global warming would require power plants and vehicles to reduce their greenhouse gases by 70 percent. A chief sponsor said President Bush’s approach of voluntary action will not meet the goal.
The proposal Thursday by Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, was seen as a compromise that could get the 60 votes needed to pass, perhaps next year.
“It is the tipping point … a breakthrough,” said Lieberman, of the Senate Environmental and Public Works subcommittee that will write the legislation. Warner is the panel’s top Republican.
Lawmakers already have introduced a half-dozen bills that recommend limits on greenhouse gases; some are more aggressive than the one from Lieberman and Warner.
But not one has strong bipartisan support. In addition to Warner, Republican Sens. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Susan Collins of Maine are co-sponsors, as is Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
In a Senate speech, Warner acknowledged “basic differences” with the Bush administration. The president has opposed mandatory limits on greenhouse gases, saying such regulations would stifle economic growth.
“We feel voluntary (actions) will not achieve the goal (or) the leadership the United States of America must take on this issue,” Warner said.
The Lieberman-Warner proposal won the endorsement of the committee chairwoman, Sen. Barbara Boxer, who has proposed cutting emissions by as much as 80 percent by mid-century.
But Boxer, D-Calif., said the compromise bill was “a turning point” that “would be the strongest global warming program in the world in terms of its reach” if it became law. Boxer said the proposal meets all her basic principles on dealing with climate change.
The plan would set a mandatory cap on greenhouse gases, principally carbon dioxide, from electric power, manufacturing and transportation sources. Its goal is to cut annual emissions by 15 percent in 2020 and 70 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels.
Government-imposed limits would cover about three-fourths of all releases of greenhouse gases. Warner and Lieberman say other parts of the legislation could lead to further emissions cuts from sources such as private homes, which are not covered in the restrictions. Examples include new energy efficiency requirements and possibly more stringent actions that individual states could have permission to take.
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