Legislation in the 110th Congress Related to Global Climate Change

Members of the 110^th Congress (2007-2008) are introducing legislation related to global climate change at a faster pace than any previous Congress. As of July 2008, lawmakers had introduced more than 235 bills, resolutions, and amendments specifically addressing global climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—compared with the 106 pieces of relevant legislation the previous Congress submitted during its entire two-year (2005-2006) term.

Summaries of significant climate activity related to the 110th Congress are available here.  

• Carbon Capture and Storage Early Deployment Act, H.R. 6258
  The Center's Letter of Support and Bill Summary
• Resources for the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act
• Economy-Wide Cap & Trade Proposals in the 110th Congress
• Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act Passes Committee
• Summary of the GAO's Report on Climate Change and Insurance Risk

The following list of bills, resolutions, and amendments is updated on a regular basis, and divided into the following categories:

• GHG Emission Limits
• GHG Emission Reporting
• Carbon Tax
• International Negotiations
• National Security & Climate Change
• Climate-Friendly Technology
• Carbon Sequestration
• Tax Incentives
• Transportation Emissions
• Agriculture
• Buildings
• Climate Science Research
• Adaptation
• Energy Policy
• Other

This unprecedented Congressional attention to climate change reflects a profound shift in the long debate over global warming.

Overview of Bills

The year 2007 began with a change in leadership in both chambers of Congress, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and key committee chairs Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) declaring their intent to place climate change at the top of the Congressional agenda.

In March, the House of Representatives voted 269-150 to form a new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), with Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) as the ranking member.

On December 5th, the Senate Environment and Public Work Committee voted 11-8 to favorably report S.2191, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act. This is the first GHG cap-and-trade bill that has ever been voted out of a Congressional committee, and S.2191 is slated to be taken up on the Senate floor some time in 2008. Click here for a summary of the full committee markup proceedings and vote.

The 110^th Congress is prolific not only in the quantity of climate change-related bills introduced, but in the breadth and variety of subjects those bills address. The bills of the 110^th Congress include a record number of proposed cap-and-trade systems, resolutions calling for vigorous U.S. participation in international climate change negotiations, and funding for climate science and climate-friendly technologies research such as carbon capture and sequestration. Additionally, mutual benefits can be found in scores of bills that address energy efficiency, energy security, new technology research, agriculture, resource management, national security, and wildlife preservation.