A Democratic bill recently unveiled in the House would require energy producers to purchase permits for carbon dioxide emissions.
Under Rep. Jim McDermott’s (D-Wash.) legislation, producers of coal, natural gas and oil would have to buy permits from the Treasury Department equivalent to the costs of carbon dioxide created.
{mosads}McDermott argued his proposal would help combat climate change.
“The evidence is crystal clear that climate change is real and already wreaking irreparable harm to our planet,” McDermott said in a statement. “With 2014 registering as the hottest year on record, it’s time that Congress gets serious about protecting our planet’s future by curbing carbon emissions that are polluting our air, warming our oceans and creating destructive weather patterns across the globe.”
The price for buying a federal emission permit would be $12.50 per metric ton of carbon dioxide in 2016. The Treasury Department, Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department would establish permit prices in subsequent years.
In addition, the bill would set greenhouse gas emissions targets to 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2060.
Energy producers that don’t comply with the permit requirements would be subject to fines.