Support Strong U.S. Climate Change Legislation Now

I support strong U.S. Climate Change legislation

Dear Senator

I am writing this letter to express my support for strong domestic climate legislation in the U.S., particularly in regards to the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. I strongly support strengthening the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. Strengthening the bill will give the U.S. the ability to mitigate the effects of climate change, set the stage for global climate change policy and be a leader in the clean energy economy. In particular, I strongly support the following provisions of the bill and their improvements outlined below.
• The bill should establish an emission reduction target of 20% below 2005 levels by 2020.
• Renewable energy standards should be kept at 9.5% by 2014, 20% by 2021 as presented in the House bill and later should be increased to 40% by 2039.
• The bill should also include provisions for the development of natural gas infrastructure and incentives for replacing coal with natural gas.
• The use of carbon offsets should be returned to the ratio of five tons of carbon offsets to four tons of emissions.
• The limit of offsets allowed for compliance should be decreased from 2 billion total offsets per year to 500 million domestic and 500 international offsets per year.
• The bill should include fuel efficiency standards that will mandate the production of high efficiency cars.
• Auctioned allowances should initially constitute 25% of all issued allowances under a national cap and trade system.
This bill should be strengthened and passed for many reasons including the following economic, political and scientific justifications:
Most peer-reviewed scientific studies on climate change and its effects are in agreement that climate change is a real problem and that immediate action has to be taken to avoid future catastrophic events. If greenhouse gas concentration remains at 2000 levels, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates an increase in average global temperature of at least 1.8 degrees by 2090 to 2099. Even this best case scenario will cause increases in severity and frequency of extreme weather events as well as drastic decreases in Arctic and Antarctic ice sheets.
A strong U.S. climate legislation is needed in respect to the Conference of the Parties in Copenhagen this December. Emission reduction targets and policies to address climate change domestically will set the stage for constructive international negotiations and a new international treaty that will strive to successfully mitigate the effects of climate change.
A strong Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act will promote economic growth. A study by the Political Economic Research Institute and the Center for American progress reports that the investment created by the proposed bill will produce a net gain of 1.7 million jobs in the U.S. The development and deployment of new technology will call for a significant increase in investment. This investment in new technologies will also encourage innovation which is one of the main drivers of U.S. competitiveness and economic leadership.
If there is no action taken to mitigate the causes and effects of climate change there could be enormous costs to the American economy and threats to national security. If the US does not make significant progress on strong domestic climate change legislation before the U.S. attends the Copenhagen C.O.P., the U.S. could lose political influence in the global climate change policy arena. In addition, the effects of climate change such as increased frequency and severity of natural catastrophes can inflict large costs to the U.S. economy and pose a threat to National Security. Strong climate change legislation will be a key component in achieving American energy independence. Energy independence will boost domestic economy and will improve National Security by reducing reliance on foreign energy resources.
For these reasons, I strongly urge you to support the strengthening and success of the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. I also insist that you encourage President Obama to ensure that the U.S. plays a prominent role in the successful creation of strong global climate change treaty at the upcoming negotiations in Copenhagen.

Sincerely,

[Your name]