An Introduction to Climate Change Legislation

Climate Change Legislation in the 111th Congress

More than a dozen bills were proposed or introduced in the 111th Congress that were designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the United States by putting a price on those emissions. This web resource provides a brief summary of the proposals. (See the table at lower right for a summary of provisions in major proposals.) It also offers an introduction to key aspects of climate change legislation—such as allowance allocation or provisions for offsets—and provides an introductory snapshot of policy options and assessment criteria.

The navigation buttons on the right lead to pages describing different aspects of the legislation. Each page provides links to further reading. The Introduction button is linked back to this page.

Further Reading

Assessing U.S. Climate Policy Options 
One of the key resources upon which these snapshots of policy options rest is a set of 15 detailed policy briefs drawn from this 2007 report that emerged from deliberations of the U.S. Climate Policy Forum, an RFF initiative.

Issues in Designing U.S. Climate Change Policy 
Joseph E. Aldy and William A. Pizer
Discussion Paper 08-20

Instrument Choice in Environmental Policy
Lawrence H. Goulder and Ian W.H. Parry
Discussion Paper 08-07

Emissions Trading versus CO2 Taxes versus Standards
Ian W.H. Parry and William A. Pizer
Assessing U.S. Climate Policy Options
Issue Brief #5

Key elements and
targets of Climate
Change Bills Introduced
in the 111th Congress 

Emission Allowance Allocations Under The American Power (Kerry-Lieberman) Act (.xls)