Washington, DC (January 16, 2007) -- A new global warming bill introduced today by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and nine other senators would set bold targets to cut the heat-trapping pollution that causes global warming. The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act would freeze global warming emissions in 2010 and then gradually cut emissions each year, reaching about 83 percent below current levels in the year 2050 (80 percent below 1990 levels).

 

"These Senate leaders are proposing action on the scale needed to prevent the worst effects of global warming," said Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) President Frances Beinecke. "We must start cutting heat-trapping pollution now and steadily reduce it year by year. Delay will only make the task harder and more expensive."

 

As the new chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator Boxer has made effective global warming legislation her top priority. The Committee will hold its first hearing, a forum for all senators’ views on global warming legislation, on January 30, 2007.