The CTRM Blog

The U.S. power industry is all too familiar with trendy policies and ideas, oftentimes thrust upon it by outsiders with an agenda. However, there are trends that energy companies and their vendors would do well to follow closely over the course of the next year. One such trend in the United States is the regulation of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). Climate change and energy are now intertwined as demonstrated by the following major legislation proposed in Congress in 2009:

• The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (passed by the House Representatives and stalled in the Senate) and
• The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009 (proposed and stalled in the Senate)

COP15 (the United Nations climate talks) in Copenhagen came to a close on December 18 after a tumultuous two weeks in which emotions and expectations rose and fell on a daily basis. In the end, COP15 produced a relatively weak political agreement that committed to keep global warming at 2°C or less and promised $30 billion in funding to battle climate change by 2012. It also created a framework for international transparency on climate actions for both developed and developing nations. The deal allows each country to attach their national actions and mechanisms for combating climate change and to then provide information on those actions. The accord is not legally binding.