Today, in recognition of Earth Day, three members of Congress laid out principles for effectively legislating a solution to global warming.  The principles are meant to provide House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress with a framework from which to create environmental legislation. 

While we'd rather see these principles incorporated into an actual bill - especially since two of the three representatives sit on environmental committees where legislation begins - the road map for environmental progress laid out by Representatives Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA) and Jay Inslee (D-WA) serve as an important conversation starter.

The principles recognize four key goals for global warming legislation: 

1.  Reduce emissions to avoid dangerous global warming
2.  Transition America to a clean energy economy
3.  Recognize and minimize any economic impacts from global warming legislation
4.  Aid communities and ecosystems vulnerable to harm from global warming

“The dangers of global warming are too large to ignore,” said Rep. Waxman.  “We must listen to the science and start making major reductions in CO₂ emissions.  Our principles lay out a just and effective approach to fight global warming and build a clean energy economy.”

To implement these tenets of global stewardship, the Congressmen are calling for the creation of a cap and trade emissions systems in which emissions allowances are first auctioned to companies. (Other trading schemes call for every company to be given an allowance up to a certain level.)  Each company may then engage in trade with others to keep their emissions below the allowable thresholds. 

Revenues from the emissions auctions would fund clean energy technology development and help address harm caused by global warming.  However, no mention was made of providing funding assistance to smaller or struggling companies to help them afford emissions allowances at auctions. 

“These are legislative principles, and they are planetary principles as well,” said Rep. Markey. “Any solution to global warming must cut pollution, help people, and encourage profits from a clean energy economy.  These climate tenets give Congress a roadmap for an economy-wide solution to our climate challenge.”