The current McCain-Lieberman version of the Climate Stewardship Act would require the EPA to regulate emissions in sectors of the economy that account for 85% of greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would cap emissions at 2000 levels by 2010. Though a variety of sectors are discussed in the bill, it would ultimately only apply to large emitters--emitting more than 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The bill does not apply to residential or agricultural sectors. The implementing legislation would include the use of flexible mechanisms, such as the banking of emission allowances through early compliance, using tradable allowances for companies unable to meet scheduled reductions, and providing loans to companies who plan to scale back their emissions to 1990 levels.

The MIT analysis used for determining the $15-per-month household cost suggested to this study’s respondents is based on an earlier version of the McCain-Lieberman legislation. This version included a two-phase process that would cap emissions in Phase I at 2000 levels by 2010, and require further emission reductions in Phase II to 1990 levels by 2020. Cost estimates were based on worst-case cost scenarios for the implementation of Phase I and the average case cost scenario for the implementation of Phase II. These estimates are significantly higher than MIT’s cost estimates, expected to be no more than $20 per year, for the legislation in its current form. The full MIT analysis1 is available online at http://web.mit.edu/globalchange/www/MITJPSPGC_Rpt97.pdf