WASHINGTON –
U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), today announced that he will co-sponsor the

America’s Climate Security Act,
which would tackle the problem of global warming by reducing greenhouse emissions.
  The measure has been introduced with strong bipartisan support by
U.S. Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT),
and John Warner (R-VA).
 

“This is a major step forward for all of us who want to act now to curb the explosive growth in greenhouse gas emissions,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
  “It is comprehensive and bipartisan approach and it represents our best hope of enacting meaning global warming legislation during this Congress.”

Major provisions of the bill:

·
       
The greenhouse-gas emissions cap in

America’s Climate Security Act
covers U.S. electric power, transportation, and manufacturing sources that together account for 75% of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.
 

·
       
The cap over those sources starts at the 2005 emission level in 2012, and then lowers year-by-year to reach the 1990 emissions level (15% below the 2005 emissions level) in 2020. It calls for reaching 65% below the 1990 emissions level (70% below the 2005 emissions level) in 2050.
 

·
       
It strengthens energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings in order to address commercial- and residential-sector emissions that are not covered by the cap.
 

The measure would control compliance costs by allowing companies to trade, save, and borrow emission allowances, and by allowing them to generate credits when they induce non-covered businesses, farms, and others to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or capture and store greenhouse gases.

 “This is a strong bill, and I will continue to work to further strengthen it as it moves through the Environment and Public Works Committee and the Senate floor.
  The effects of global warming are clearly visible and we need to act now to reduce its effects.”