Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill-WE'RE IN IT!

Funding for wildlife adaptation is included in the Waxman-Markey Climate Change Bill. This bill will be considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee next week. NRE adaptation would receive 1% of the allocation to start and reach 4% by 2027. This is great news as it was not looking very promising for us as late as yesterday afternoon.

The Waxman-Markey bill is the CC bill that will be considered by the full House possibly as early as June if it advances from the E&C committee. Although there will probably not be any Republican supporters, it appears there are enough Democrats to move the bill to the full House. Markup in Committee is expected to take several days, perhaps all week because Republicans are threatening to offer more than 200 amendments.

A little perspective; securing this allocation for wildlife was the culmination of 3-4 years of hard work by a coalition that included Gary Taylor and others from AFWA, NWF, DOW, TNC, DU, TU, TRCP, TPL, Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, Earth Justice and others. Although we did not get 5% of the allocation as we had advocated, we should feel fortunate in getting something in a very difficult negotiating climate. The full text of the bill is expected to be 1,000 pages so I thought I would spare you that for the time being.

Assuming this bill gets through the E&C committee next week (and it’s likely it will) and assuming the bill makes it to the floor of the House and passes (odds look good) then we will still need action in the Senate (less certain there, needs 60 votes to advance). There are still some major hurdles to overcome, but this is a major milestone in our efforts to secure dedicated funding.

Here is the part that is relevant to F&W agencies:
Domestic Adaptation: From 2012 through 2021, 2% of allowances will be allocated for domestic adaptation purposes. The amount of allowances allocated for domestic adaptation will increase to 4% from 2022 through 2026 and to 8% in 2027 and thereafter. Half of these allowances will be used for wildlife and natural resource protection and half for other domestic adaptation purposes, including public health. Note: No further appropriation will be required.