Voter Guide: Candidates’ Climate- and Energy-Related Policy Positions

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Sen. Barack Obama [1]
Sen. John McCain [2]

Sen. Barack Obama

Candidate’s website [3]

“Global warming is real, is happening now and is the result of human activities.”
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
Invest $150 billion over the next ten years to develop and deploy climate-friendly energy supplies, protect our existing manufacturing base, and create millions of new jobs.
Improve energy efficiency to reduce the energy intensity of our economy by 50 percent by 2030.
Reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce oil consumption overall by at least 35 percent, or 10 million barrels of oil, by 2030.
Make the U.S. a leader in the global effort to combat climate change by leading a new international global warming partnership.

Sen. Obama’s climate policy positions:

Cap-and-trade with 100% auction.
Invest revenue for a clean energy future.
- Invest in basic research.
- Invest in a skilled clean technologies workforce. This includes a youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth.
- Invest in energy efficiency improvements and address transition costs, including helping American workers affected by this economic transition and helping lower-income Americans afford their energy bills by expanding the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, expanding weatherization grants for low-income individuals to make their homes more energy efficient, and establishing a dedicated fund to assist low-income Americans afford higher electricity and energy bills
- Develop next generation of biofuels.
- Expand locally-owned biofuel refineries.
- Develop and deploy clean coal technology. “Obama will use whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology.”
- Safe and secure nuclear energy: “Four key issues: public right-to-know, security of nuclear fuel and waste, waste storage, and proliferation.”
- Establish a national Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
- Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital. To be “modeled on the Central Intelligence Agency In-Q-Tel program. In-Q-Tel is a non-profit, independently-managed venture capital fund led by seasoned venture capital professionals to develop new intelligence technologies for the CIA. The first five years of In-Q-Tel funding led to 22 new technologies being used in 40 government programs.”
- Extend federal Production Tax Credit for renewable energy for five years.
- Convert manufacturing centers into clean technology leaders.
25% renewable electricity standard by 2025.
30% renewable electricity standard for the Federal government by 2020.
Improve building efficiency.
Expand federal efficiency grants.
Phase out incandescent light bulbs.
Invest in smart grid.

International positions:

Re-engage with UNFCCC.
Create new forum of largest GHG emitters: “Barack Obama will take seriously the U.S.’s leadership role in combating climate change. Obama will signal to the world the U.S. commitment to climate change leadership by implementing an aggressive domestic cap-and-trade program coupled with increased investments in clean energy development and deployment. Obama will build on our domestic commitments by creating a negotiating process that involves a smaller number of countries than the nearly 200 countries in the current Kyoto system. Obama will create a Global Energy Forum – based on the G8+5, which includes all G-8 members plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa – of the world’s largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues.”
Transfer American technology to the developing world to fight climate change: “Obama will create a Technology Transfer program within DOE.”
Cooperate with oil importers (China, India) to reduce demand.
Ensure the U.S. works with developing countries on climate change.
Confront deforestation and promote carbon sequestration.

Candidate’s website [5]

Sen. John McCain's Cap and Trade Policy:

Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets And Timetables:
- 2005 levels in 2012 (18% above 1990 levels)
- 1990 levels in 2020 (15% below 2005 levels)
- 22% below 1990 levels in 2030 (34% below 2005 levels)
- 60% below 1990 levels in 2050 (66% below 2005 levels)
Coverage:
- Electric power, transportation fuels, commercial businesses, and industrial businesses.
- Just below 90% of all emissions. Small businesses would be exempt. Initially, participants would be allowed to either make their own GHG reductions or purchase "offsets" – financial instruments representing a reduction, avoidance, or sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions practiced by other activities, such as agriculture – to cover 100 percent of their required reductions. Offsets would only be available through a program dedicated to ensure that all offset GHG emission reductions are real, measured and verifiable. The fraction of GHG emission reductions permitted via offsets would decline over time.
Allocation and Auction:
- “Emissions permits will eventually be auctioned to support the development of advanced technologies. A portion of the proceeds of these auctions will be used to support a diversified portfolio of research and commercialization challenges, ranging from carbon capture and sequestration, to nuclear power, to battery development. Funds will also be used to provide financial backing for a Green Innovation Financing and Transfer (GIFT) to facilitate commercialization.”
- “A portion of auction proceeds” will also go to “reduce impacts on low-income American families.”
- “Early allocation of some emission permits on sound principles. This will provide a significant amount of allowances for auctioning to provide funding for transition assistance for consumers and industry. It will also directly allocate sufficient permits to enable the activities of a Climate Change Credit Corporation, the public-private agency that will oversee the cap and trade program, provide credit to entities for reductions made before 2012, and ease transition for industry with competitiveness concerns and fewer efficiency technology options.”
- “A commission will also be convened to provide recommendations on the percentage of allowances to be provided for free and the percentage of allowances to be auctioned, and develop a schedule for transition from allocated to maximum auctioned allowances. Cap-and-trade system will also work to maximize the amount of allowances that are auctioned off by 2050.”
Cost-containment:
- Full banking and borrowing.
- Initially, firms will be able to use domestic and international offsets for 100% of their compliance obligation.
- Trading will be integrated with other international markets.
- A Strategic Carbon Reserve will be established as a national source of permits “during periods of economic duress.”
International:
- “John McCain will engage the international community in a coordinated effort by:
  - Actively engaging to lead United Nations negotiations;
  - Permitting America to lead in innovation, capture the market on low-carbon energy production, and export to developing countries – including government incentives and partnerships for sales of clean tech to developing countries;
  - Provide incentives for rapid participation by India and China, while negotiating an agreement with each.”
Adaptation:
- “John McCain will develop a climate change adaptation plan.
- A comprehensive approach to addressing climate change includes adaptation as well as mitigation.
- An adaptation plan should be based upon national and regional scientific assessments of the impacts of climate change.
- An adaptation plan should focus on implementation at the local level which is where impacts will manifest themselves.
- A comprehensive plan will address the full range of issues: infrastructure, ecosystems, resource planning, and emergency preparation.”

The Lexington Project for Energy Independence

45 new nuclear reactors by 2030.
Long-term goal of 100 new nuclear plants.
$2 billion/year to clean coal RD&D.
Clean Car Challenge to automakers: The first zero-emission car will earn $5,000 tax credit for each customer. For other vehicles, the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.
Goal of a “swift conversion of American vehicles away from oil.”
$300 million prize for advanced vehicle battery technology.
Renewables to be incentivized through cap-and-trade program.

Back to The Candidates and Climate Change: A Guide to Key Policy Positions [6]