CBO study finds climate bill will cost average household $175 a year in 2020

October 2nd, 2009 Obama adviser says no climate change law this yearWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's top energy adviser says there is no way Congress will be able to pass a bill on climate change this year. "That's not going to happen," the adviser, Carol Browner, said Friday.

September 18th, 2009 Report: Climate bill costs could be modestWASHINGTON — The long-term economic costs of a climate bill being considered in Congress would be "comparatively modest" in light of expected overall economic growth over the next 40 years, according to a congressional report released Friday. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill, which would impose a "cap and trade" system to reduce greenhouse gases, would cause the economy, or GDP, to be a quarter to three-quarters of 1 percent lower in 2020 than it otherwise would be.

August 5th, 2009 Report: Early costs of climate bill will be modestWASHINGTON — Climate change legislation before Congress would boost electricity prices by about 20 percent by 2030, although most of the increases wouldn't begin until after 2020, a government analysis concluded Tuesday. The Energy Information Administration said the ability to contain the cost to consumers depends largely on whether the country is successful in a "large scale" expansion of nuclear power and renewable energy sources that do not emit greenhouse gases and the deployment of carbon-capture technology at coal plants.

August 3rd, 2009 Broad action on climate needed to achieve cutsWASHINGTON — If global warming is to be addressed without breaking people's pocketbooks, no single answer will do the job, a research group tied to the electric utility industry says in a new study that concludes the problem must be attacked from many directions. The report released Monday says that needed greenhouse gas reductions can be achieved at a reasonable cost to electricity consumers if the problem is broadly addressed, including building new nuclear power plants, requiring coal plants to capture their carbon dioxide, expanding use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and putting more electric cars on the road.

July 16th, 2009 Senator holds up EPA nominee over climate studyWASHINGTON — A Republican senator is blocking the nomination of a top Environmental Protection Agency official over what he calls a flawed study of the climate bill recently passed in the House. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said the hold is unrelated to the qualifications of Robert Perciasepe, nominated to become the EPA's deputy administrator.

July 15th, 2009 Britain presents plans to cut emissions, add jobsLONDON — The British government detailed ambitious plans Wednesday to cut carbon emissions substantially by 2020, and said 40 percent of the country's electricity by then would come from renewable sources. The proposal on fighting climate change envisions expansions in wind energy as well as continued use of nuclear power and clean coal.

July 14th, 2009 SYDNEY - Taller men are able to earn more than their shorter counterparts simply because they are perceived as being more intelligent and powerful, according to a new study. The study 'Does size matter' used newly available data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to estimate the relationship between hourly wages and two aspects of body size: height and body mass index (BMI).

July 9th, 2009 L'AQUILA - Developed countries comprising the G8 are unwilling to commit themselves to reducing greenhouse gas emissions drastically by 2020, despite scientists across the world and developing countries urging them to do so. With the issue of climate change becoming significant during the G8-G5 summit here, especially in the run-up to the UN climate change summit to be held in Copenhagen this December, emerging economies of the G5 are exerting pressure on the G8 to commit to earlier targets on reducing emissions.

July 7th, 2009 Obama officials urge Senate to act on climateWASHINGTON — Saying global warming poses unprecedented threats to Americans' way of life, four of President Barack Obama's top environmental and energy officials urged the Senate on Tuesday to pass legislation to reduce the pollution linked to the planet's rising temperature. The heads of the Energy Department, Agriculture Department, Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency told a Senate panel it should pass a bill similar to one the House narrowly cleared late last month.

June 26th, 2009 Democrats hunting for enough climate bill votesWASHINGTON — Democrats scrambled for votes Friday to push through a historic and hotly contested bill to combat global warming and usher in an era of cleaner but more expensive energy. To Republican opponents, it's the largest tax increase ever.

June 26th, 2009 Wide-ranging energy measure ready for floor voteWASHINGTON — The House has set the stage for a historic vote on hotly contested legislation to combat global warming and overhaul U.S. energy policy.

June 26th, 2009 Handful of Democrats hold key to climate billWASHINGTON — A handful of undecided Democrats hold the key to whether the House will confront global warming and begin a shift away from fossil fuels to cleaner sources of energy. House Democratic leaders were scrambling to round up additional votes to pass the climate legislation Friday before lawmakers depart for a weeklong July 4 holiday recess.

April 21st, 2009 Republicans say climate bill not ready for debateWASHINGTON — As Congress begins to debate climate change in earnest, the science is taking a back seat to economics: How much will it cost to slow the earth's warming because of man-made pollution — and what's the cost of doing nothing? A key House committee begins four days of hearings on climate legislation Tuesday, but the challenge of getting bipartisan support immediately became apparent. Even before the hearings, Republican members of the Energy and Commerce Committee argued that the panel's Democratic leaders are moving too quickly to try to push the legislation through.

April 21st, 2009 High cost of addressing climate change challengedWASHINGTON — An environmental group is challenging claims that major reductions in greenhouse gases would lead to soaring energy costs. The Union of Concerned Scientists says its analysis, using Energy Department computer models, show that higher electric and gasoline costs will be offset by improvements in energy and automobile efficiency.

April 21st, 2009 Pelosi vows climate bill this yearWASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she's determined to pass legislation addressing climate change this year. Pelosi noted that Wednesday will be celebrated as Earth Day.