Obama inmediatamente saludó el resultado, declarando a los periodistas de la Casa Blanca que se trataba de una "victoria del futuro sobre el pasado" y una "etapa audaz y necesaria" que se inicia. "El pueblo estadounidense quiere que dejemos las fracasadas políticas del pasado (…) y que enfrentemos los desafíos de nuestro tiempo. Y eso es exactamente lo que hizo la Cámara de Representantes hoy", agregó.
El texto debe ahora pasa al Senado, que decidió fijarse mediados de setiembre como plazo para pronunciarse al respecto. La ley busca reducir las emisiones de CO2 (dióxido de carbono), principal gas causante del efecto invernadero y origen del cambio climático. En ese sentido, propone la creación de empleos verdes y disminuir la dependencia de las fuentes de energía importadas, promoviendo las energías renovables y los vehículos eléctricos.
Tras varios meses de conversaciones con los representantes de los Estados dependientes del carbón y del petróleo, y con los legisladores de estados agrícolas productores de etanol, los responsables demócratas, que aceptaron dar compensaciones, alcanzaron un acuerdo para votar el texto.
El proyecto prevé la creación de un sistema de mercado de derechos de emisiones denominado "cap and trade", donde los derechos serán vendidos u otorgados gratuitamente para las industrias más vulnerables (acero, vidrio).
Además, los grandes proveedores de servicios eléctricos para usos residenciales deberán obtener el 15% de su electricidad a partir de energías renovables (eólica, solar, geotérmica) antes de fines de 2020. Además, se les exigirá un 5% de ahorro anual con la implantación de medidas de eficiencia energética.
Según un análisis de la Agencia de medio ambiente de Estados Unidos (EPA) divulgado esta semana, la puesta en marcha del proyecto de ley costará a los hogares estadounidenses de 80 a 111 dólares por año. Para la Oficina de presupuesto del Congreso (CBO), un organismo independiente, este costo será de 175 dólares anuales.
El texto votado en la Cámara, titulado "Ley estadounidense de energía limpia y seguridad" (American Clean Energy and Security Act), tiene como objetivo lograr para 2020 una reducción de las emisiones de gases con efecto invernadero de 17% en relación al nivel de 2005, y de 83% para el año 2050.
Obama insta al Senado a aprobar su programa energético
El presidente de EEUU, Barack Obama, se manifestó complacido por la aprobación en la Cámara de Representantes de un proyecto de ley que por primera vez en la historia de este país impone límites a las emisiones de gases que producen el efecto invernadero.
En su discurso radiofónico de los sábados, Obama instó al Senado a aprobar la iniciativa y señaló que la versión de la Cámara ‘finalmente’ creará un conjunto de incentivos que llevarán a una transformación hacia la energía limpia.
‘Alentará el desarrollo de fuentes de energía bajas en carbono…todo, desde la energía eólica, solar y geotérmica’, indicó.
Añadió que una vez promulgada, la ley impulsará nuevas economías de energía, como las ventanas eficientes y otros materiales que reducen los costos de calefacción en el invierno y los de aire acondicionado en el verano.
‘Lo que es más importante, posibilitará la creación de millones de nuevas fuentes de trabajo’, aseguró.
Al solicitar el apoyo de todos los senadores al proyecto, Obama indicó: ‘No podemos temer al futuro. Y no debemos ser prisioneros del pasado. No crean en la falsa información que sugiere que hay una contradicción entre invertir en energía limpia y crecimiento económico. Simplemente no es verdad’.
La aprobación en la Cámara de Representantes se logró tras meses de negociaciones y en medio de la resistencia de los republicanos que afirmaron que, en caso de promulgarse, la ley eliminará fuentes de empleo en un momento en que el país afronta una dura recesión.
Según la Oficina de Gestión y Presupuesto de la Casa Blanca (OMB), la iniciativa contiene cláusulas para la protección de los consumidores, la reducción de los costos energéticos y para fomentar una transición hacia una economía con fuentes de energía que reduzcan la contaminación ambiental.
Una vez promulgada, la ley impondrá límites a las emisiones de dióxido de carbono y otras sustancias tóxicas por parte de las plantas generadoras de energía, las fábricas y refinerías.
También fomentará el desarrollo de fuentes alternativas de energías renovables.
El proyecto establece, además, un mercado de carbono, en el cual las empresas podrían comprar y vender permisos para contaminar, con el fin de crear un incentivo económico para reducir las emisiones.
La ley señala que en 2020 un 12 por ciento de la energía que distribuyan las compañías de electricidad deberá proceder de fuentes renovables.
Asimismo, establece la obligatoriedad de recortar las emisiones de gases que provocan el efecto invernadero en un 17 por ciento con respecto a los niveles del año 2005 para 2020 y en un 83 por ciento para 2050.
Pero, según los republicanos, la ley supondrá una nueva carga impositiva para los estadounidenses, lo que redundará en un impacto inflacionario.
‘Forzar un nuevo impuesto a todo estadounidense que conduce un automóvil o prende las luces resultará en un aumento en el precio de los alimentos, la gasolina y la electricidad’, dijo el legislador John Boehner, en el discurso republicano de los sábados.
Boehner, líder de la minoría republicana en la Cámara, manifestó que hasta el propio Obama ha reconocido que el precio de la energía ‘aumentará drásticamente’.
‘La medida de los demócratas también mandará millones de empleos a competidores como China y la India’, advirtió el legislador, que citó un reciente cálculo de que la aplicación de la ley ‘costará entre 2,3 millones y 2,7 millones de empleos al año’.
Según Boehner, los republicanos de la Cámara de Representantes han propuesto ‘un camino mejor’, que consiste en una estrategia de todas las opciones para descontaminar el ambiente, reducir el costo de la energía y generar más empleos.
‘Nuestro plan aumentará la producción de energía de manera segura para el medio ambiente, promoverá el uso de combustibles alternativos, como la energía nuclear, de carbón limpio y la tecnología de energía renovable e incitará mayor eficiencia’, afirmó.
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US lawmakers approve landmark climate bill
The US House of Representatives narrowly approved a historic climate bill that for the first time would force US companies to limit greenhouse-gas emissions blamed for global warming.
The 219-212 vote marks a major victory for President Barack Obama, who has made global warming and clean energy legislation a top priority for his administration.
But the legislation deeply divided US politicians, businesses and even climate groups. The outcome of the House vote was uncertain to the very last minute: Only eight Republicans voted in favour and 43 Democrats voted against the measure.
The bill now moves to the Senate, which could have an even tougher time getting the measure passed. Groups on both sides have also vowed to continue pushing for changes as the legislation makes its way through the US Congress.
The US, which together with China emits about half of the world’s greenhouse gases, has long faced pressure from other governments to more aggressively reduce its carbon footprint.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who met Obama earlier Friday at the White House, backed the House bill as "an enormous success, which I would not have thought possible a year ago".
The mandatory emissions curbs approved Friday were long resisted by former president George W. Bush.
The Obama administration hopes the bill will bolster the country’s bargaining position at a critical meeting in Copenhagen in December, where governments are expected to thrash out a new global treaty to combat climate change.
"It’s a huge boost to the international negotiations," Jennifer Haverkamp of the Environmental Defence Fund, a non-partisan environmental group, told DPA.
"The negotiations have really been on hold, waiting to see what the United States will do," she said.
The centrepiece of the legislation is a so-called cap-and-trade system, which already exists in Europe and creates a market for carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. Companies would get pollution allowances that can be traded between dirtier and cleaner firms.
Supporters and opponents of the bill had been lobbying furiously throughout the week. Climate, business and industry groups have been out in force with television advertisements and mobilising their supporters to call their congressional representatives.
Lawmakers were locked in a spirited debate on the floor of the House throughout the afternoon. Opposition Republicans and some Democrats argued the bill would impose an undue burden on the US economy and shift jobs to emerging economies with less stringent environmental rules.
"The jobs will go to China and the (US) economy will go to hell," said Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican from California. "Wake up America!"
Obama hopes a cap-and-trade system will cut US emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels – about seven percent below 1990 levels – by 2020, and nearly 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
Obama earlier Friday said the US had failed to tackle climate change in the past and acknowledged the country was lagging behind Europe in reducing emissions.
"Europe in many ways over the last several years has moved more rapidly than the United States," Obama said after his meeting with Merkel. He was "impressed" with Germany’s "foresight and commitment to clean energy".
"It is my hope that the United States will match that commitment today," Obama said of the House vote.
But the bill has been watered down over the last few weeks and is still below the European Union’s commitments. The EU has promised a 20-percent emissions cut below 1990 levels by 2020 and called for other wealthy countries to adopt stiffer targets as well.
Democratic leaders were forced into last-minute compromises to get the backing of lawmakers from farm and coal producing states, agreeing to hand out some pollution credits for free.
The compromises have made some climate groups uneasy. Carl Pope of the Sierra Club said his organisation would be pushing for major changes in the coming weeks.
"We urged the House to pass this bill so that we could work to strengthen it before it reaches President Obama’s desk," Pope said in a statement. "It is now of the utmost importance that the Senate improve several of its provisions."
US businesses, many of which have pushed for a federal cap on emissions to replace a patchwork of state regulations, have also been divided over whether to support the bill.
The US Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than three million businesses around the US, came out in opposition.
"The chamber hopes, at some point, that Congress will find a way to balance the need for a strong US economy while still addressing global climate change. Unfortunately, Congress has fallen short with this bill," William Kovacs of the chamber said in a statement.
Obama implores Senate to pass climate bill
Hours after the House passed landmark legislation meant to curb greenhouse gas emissions and create an energy-efficient economy, President Barack Obama on Saturday urged senators to show courage and follow suit.
The sharply debated bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate, and Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address to ratchet up pressure on the 100-seat chamber.
"My call to every senator, as well as to every American, is this," he said. "We cannot be afraid of the future. And we must not be prisoners of the past. Don’t believe the misinformation out there that suggests there is somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and economic growth."
Obama said the bill would create jobs, make renewable energy profitable and decrease America’s dependence on foreign oil.
"It will spur the development of low-carbon sources of energy — everything from wind, solar and geothermal power to safer nuclear energy and cleaner coal," he said.
House Democratic leaders said the bill helped accomplish one of Obama’s campaign promises and would make the U.S. a leader in international efforts to address climate change when negotiations take place in Copenhagen later this year.
"We passed transformational legislation, which will take us into the future," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after the 219-212 vote.
"For some it was a very difficult vote because the entrenched agents of the status quo were out there full force, jamming the lines in their districts and here, and they withstood that," Pelosi said.
The vote marked the first time either house of Congress has passed legislation to curb global warming gases. The legislation, totaling about 1,200 pages, would require the U.S. to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by mid-century.
Success will be tougher in the Senate. Majority Leader Harry Reid says he wants to take up the legislation by the fall. Sixty 60 votes will be needed to overcome any Republican filibuster.
The "razor-thin vote in the House spells doom in the Senate," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., the top Republican on the Senate’s environment panel.
Reid, D-Nev., was more optimistic.
"The bill is not perfect, but it is a good product for the Senate," Reid said. "Working with the president and his team, I am hopeful that the Senate will be able to debate and pass bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation this fall."
Supporters and opponents agreed that the legislation would lead to higher energy costs. But they disagreed on the impact on consumers.
Democrats pointed to two reports — one from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the other from the Environmental Protection Agency — that suggested average increases would be limited after tax credits and rebates were taken into account. The CBO estimated the bill would cost an average household $175 a year, the EPA $80 to $110 a year. But Republicans and industry groups say the real figure would much higher.
The White House and congressional Democrats argued the bill would create millions of green jobs as the nation shifts to greater reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and development of more fuel-efficient vehicles — and away from use of fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal.
It will "make our nation the world leader on clean energy jobs and technology," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who negotiated deals with dozens of lawmakers in recent weeks to broaden the bill’s support.
Republicans saw it differently.
This "amounts to the largest tax increase in American history under the guise of climate change," declared Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.
In the Republicans’ weekly radio and Internet address, House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio said, "By imposing a tax on every American who drives a car or flips on a light switch, this plan will drive up the prices for food, gasoline and electricity."
But Obama said the measure would cost the average American about the price of a postage stamp per day.
"It is paid for by the polluters who currently emit dangerous carbon emissions," the president said. "It provides assistance to businesses and families as they make the gradual transition to clean energy technologies."
In California alone, Obama said, 3,000 people will be employed to build a new solar plant that will create 1,000 permanent jobs.
