The staff at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a whip snapping at its heels. For more than a decade now, the agency has been developing and refining its methodology for a "top down" inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States based on macroeconomic information. With that, the agency's career professionals have been rushing for the past two years to establish a "bottoms up" process for inventorying GHGs, including carbon dioxide and methane, and have ordered large and small facilities all over the country to collect emissions data and file reports.

If you thought the government already had a good handle on the GHG emissions generated in the United States, you'd be mistaken. The fact is, this reporting rule is designed to gather detailed emissions data to inf... more »

Is the United States preparing to switch from one form of dependency to another?

For years, policymakers have wrung their hands over the nation's so-called dependence on imported oil. To lessen that reliance, some members of Congress, including Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), have pushed for legislation that would force America to move away from oil to renewable and alternative sources of energy, including solar panels, hybrid vehicles, wind turbines, and energy efficient lighting. Markey also co-sponsored the Waxman-Markey climate bill aimed at creating a market for carbon credits and creating a near mandate for renewable energy.

Ironically, Markey also is the author of a Sept. 27 letter to the Departments of Energy, Defense and Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative stating concern ov... more »

Editor's Note: In a statement issued today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard cited the need for a thorough assessment of the Kerry-Lieberman draft climate proposal released today. The full text of Jack's comments appears below:

"This broad proposal reflects the complex relationship between the U.S. energy system and greenhouse gas emissions which come from every car, home, factory and farm in America. We are reviewing the released text to assess the proposal's possible impact on jobs, energy production, and consumers of oil and natural gas. However, until full legislative language has been thoroughly analyzed, any assessment would be guess work at best.

We need reliable data and estimates on how the draft legislation would affect energy production, energy prices, consumers' budgets and t... more »

The Kerry-Graham-Lieberman climate discussions continue to be a work in progress. Until the proposal advances beyond the concept stage, we won't know enough to support or oppose it.

Because of the interconnected nature of energy to all aspects of our economy, climate and energy policy has an enormous potential impact on Americans and their ability to find jobs and purchase goods.

For that reason, we need to see more details of the plan and an Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysis that assesses the plan's impacts on energy production and the economy.

Moving away from the House Waxman-Markey approach was imperative. The House bill would have eliminated millions more jobs than it created and unfairly burdened families, farmers, truckers and other regular users of gasoline, diesel a... more »

On Tuesday, yet another voice spoke out against the proposed climate legislation under consideration in Congress. This time it was Margo Thorning, senior vice president and chief economist at the American Council for Capital Formation (ACCF), speaking before the Senate Finance Committee.

In her testimony, Thorning referenced the findings of a recent ACCF/National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) study that found the House's version of the climate bill would:

• Reduce total U.S. employment (net of new jobs created in green industries) by between 1,790,000 to 2,440,000 jobs in 2030. Manufacturing is hard hit, absorbing between 59 to 66 percent of job losses over the 2012-2030 period; and
• Lower GDP by up to 2.4 percent relative to the baseline forecast in 2030.

Additionally, Thorning speci... more »