The Climate Security Act required large emitters such as power plants and oil refineries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions every year at a pace scientists say is needed to avoid catastrophic climate changes. The Act would have reduced U.S. global warming pollution from major emitters by more than 15% below current levels between the years 2012 and 2020, and 70% below current levels by the year 2050.

To make this work, the Climate Security Act would have established a "cap-and-trade" system [0] pioneered under the Clean Air Act. This system guaranted the pollution reduction goals will be met, while giving industry the flexibility to find the best solutions. The result would have been millions of new "green collar" manufacturing jobs.

The allowances from the cap-and-trade system would have been worth a large amount of money, which will be invested into a number of things under the Act, including:

• Protecting America's natural resources, fish and wildlife.
• Helping consumers with energy bills.
• Creating a worker training program to provide everyone access to the new energy economy.
• Investing in low pollution energy technologies in the next two decades that would be 10 times as large as current levels of energy research and development funding.
• Protecting states that pass their own, tougher laws.
• Creating incentives for projects to store carbon in forests and soils.
• Providing resources for states and tribes to assist with local global warming efforts.
• Engaging all nations in global efforts to reduce emissions and help the most vulnerable nations deal with global warming impacts.

Climate Security Act Links:

• Climate Security Act Home [0]
• How the Climate Security Act works [0]
• The Economy and the Climate Security Act [0]
• Cap-and-Trade and the Climate Security Act [0]
• Wildlife Resources and the Climate Security Act [0]