Markey’s bill tackles carbon emissions, greenhouse gases

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U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is leading a push for major clean energy legislation that he says will slice U.S. carbon emissions 83 percent by 2050, spur new technology and generate millions of jobs.

Markey, D-7th, told a Daily News editorial board yesterday he believes the plan will begin addressing climate change after eight years of “scientific denial” by the Bush administration.

“We have to get started,” Markey said. “We’re a decade behind.”

Markey, whose district includes Framingham, Natick, Waltham, Wayland and Weston, holds a leadership role in the House on energy and the environment. He is chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, as well the Energy and Environment Subcommittee.

He and Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, last week released the draft energy legislation, which also calls to cut greenhouse gases by a quarter from 2005 levels by 2025.

The proposal would do so in part by requiring energy generators to operate more efficiently, but also by funding work on technology to capture and store carbon dioxide emitted by coal-burning power plants.

At least half the country’s power comes from coal. Moving away from that source needs to be a transition, he said.

“This is something that we have to find the solution to, how to sequester the carbon,” Markey said.

Last year, the U.S. developed 9,000 megawatts of new renewable energy from solar, wind, geothermal and other sources, he said.

Much of the cut in emissions would come through a so-called cap-and-trade system. Such a program would set emissions limits and then allow industries to trade pollution allowances while taking steps to cut their energy use.

“We put the mandate on the corporations to accomplish that goal,” Markey said.

Critics have said new emissions limits will drive up energy costs. But Markey said the proposal offers rebates for ratepayers and allows flexibility for energy-intensive industries like steel and paper, Markey said.

The congressman said the measure is based on a framework supported by both environmental groups and major energy companies like General Electric. He argued that the plan is a more market-based system than other approaches, such as taxing the carbon content of fuels.

There are precedents that show this approach will work, Markey said. While critics predicted federal acid rain legislation would be costly, the expense of complying was 80 percent less than anticipated, he said.

He also predicted that the clean energy sector could develop like Internet and mobile phone technology did in the ’90s. Companies such as Marlborough’s Evergreen Solar and American Superconductor in Westborough will be well-positioned, he said.

“If we change the marketplace dynamics…we’re going to see a dramatic set of technological breakthroughs, many of which already exist in our area,” Markey said.

Other countries are looking for America to take the lead on tackling climate change, Markey said. The Obama administration is already signaling a major shift in controlling greenhouse gases, he said.

Hearings on the legislation are slated later this month. Markey said he hopes to get the bill to the House floor by July.