The Wisconsin BizTimes reports that a vast majority of small businesses oppose pending federal cap-and-trade legislation. Key findings from the National Federation of Independent Business survey include:

• 66 percent of small business owners and managers oppose a federal cap-and-trade system while 24 percent are in favor of such a system.
• 54 percent of small business owners and managers believe a federal cap-and-trade system would lead to more job losses while 15 percent believe it would have no effect and 17 percent believe it would create jobs.
• 71 percent of small business owners and managers believe a federal cap-and-trade system would increase energy costs while 14 percent it would have no effect and only 5 percent believe it would lower costs.
• 58 percent of small business owners and managers believe a federal cap-and-trade system will limit economic growth while 14 percent say it will have no effect and 14 percent believe it will increase growth.

Not surprisingly, the survey found that the economy and jobs are the biggest issues. A majority of small businesses believe that a federal cap-and-trade program would lead to job losses and increase energy prices.

Now that the Copenhage Climate Change Change Conference has ended without a major treaty, the question remains whether the U.S. Senate will pass climate change legislation. Congress earlier this year passed sweeping climate change legislation imposing a cap-and-trade program. A similar bill introduced in the Senate has since stalled.

After a brusing debate over controversial health-care legislation, Politico.com is reporting that a number of moderate Senate Democrats are indicating that they are unwilling to tackle climate chnage legislation, especially during this economic downturn. According to the article:

The creation of an economy-wide market for greenhouse gas emissions is as the heart of the climate bill that cleared the House earlier this year. But with the health care fight still raging and the economy still hurting, moderate Democrats have little appetite for another sweeping initiative - especially another one likely to pass with little or no Republican support.                                                     

“We need to deal with the phenomena of global warming, but I think it’s very difficult in the kind of economic circumstances we have right now,” said Indiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh, who called passage of any economy-wide cap and trade “unlikely.”

This does not mean, however, that greenhouse gases will escape federal oversight. Earlier this month the Obama Administration announced its endangerment finding, setting the stage for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases. In addition, as The Wall Street Journal discusses in its editorial pages this morning, the issue of climate change is entering the federal courts as environmental groups seek to impose significant damages on entities that emit greenhouse gases.

The Hamilton Consulting Regulatory Watch website will continue to track the issue at all levels over the upcoming months.

After months of meetings and drafting, the global warming legislation has been officially released. The bill, 174 pages in length, would dramatically change energy consumption and Wisconsin’s economy. 

Most notable are provisions adding a “low carbon fuel standard,” which is aimed at curtailing the use of Canadian crude derived from oil sands in Alberta, Canada. Wisconsin receives nearly 50 percent of its oil from Canada. If a low carbon fuel standard is adopted, Wisconsin’s oil supply would be drastically affected, leading to considerably higher gas prices.

The bill would also force Wisconsin to adopt California’s low emission vehicle standards. Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is the only state allowed to create its own set of greenhouse gas emission standards. States may adopt California’s standards, but once they do, they must follow any changes adopted by the California Air Resources Board. To meet California’s very strict standards, states must restrict the sale of trucks, minivans and SUVs. This could prove to be extremely problematic for Wisconsinites, who rely heavily on such vehicles for hunting, farming, and getting around during our harsh winters.

Hamilton Consulting  is analyzing the language released yesterday and will provide continuous updates as the bill moves forward. Updates can be found at the Hamilton Consulting Regulatory Watch.

The next few months are likely to be very active when it comes to climate change legislation. Wisconsin legislators are expected to unveil comprehensive climate change legislation in the next week that could prove to be controversial. Climate change legislation narrowly passed in Congress earlier this year, and is now being debated in the U.S. Senate. World leaders are meeting in Copenhagen over the next few weeks in an effort to reach agreement on ways for countries to limit their CO2 output.

Despite all of the action surrounding climate change at the international, federal, and state levels, there is still another entity seeking ways to impose regulations on manufacturers, businesses, and utilities here in the Midwest. Implemented in November 2007, the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord is comprised of signatories from six states (Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) and one Canadian province (Manitoba). The purpose of the Accord is to draft model legislation that would include a regional cap and trade program.

Although the Accord stopped meeting earlier this year, staff has continued drafting final recommendations implementing a cap and trade program. According to some officials linked with the Accord, the purpose of the Accord is a fallback if no federal legislation is enacted.

Some believe that Midwestern Accord officials would try to link Midwestern states with two similar regional programs on the East and West Coasts, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and Western Climate Initiative. The theory is that if Feds fail to act, the three regional entities could step in and impose a cap and trade scheme.

While most of the focus has been at the federal and state levels, the Accord is quietly working on both a cap and trade program and “complementary policies,” such as a low carbon fuel standard. A low carbon fuel standard would discourage Canadian crude oil derived from the oil sands in Alberta, Canada, where the Midwest receives a significant amount of its oil.

Thus, while most people are closely watching climate change legislation in Washington, D.C. and Madison, businesses would be wise to continue to monitor what is taking place with the Midwestern Accord.

The EPA today is expected today to declare carbon dioxide (CO2) a dangerous pollutant, and thus hand the agency sweeping regulatory authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

An endangerment finding under the CAA is the first step toward regulating CO2 and other greenhouse gases. The proposed endangerment finding will be issued under § 202 of the CAA, which pertains to mobile sources. However, similar “endangerment” language exists in other sections of the CAA, thus EPA’s expected announcement today is likely the first step towards the EPA regulating stationary sources as well.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the EPA’s decision is a source of major concern for businesses, in particular manufacturers, which argue that regulating greenhouse gases under the CAA will be extremely costly.

The Obama Administration’s endangerment finding coincides with the opening of the Climate Conference in Copenhagen, where it was once expected that world leaders would sign a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. However, it appears that there will be no major treaty, disappointing many environmentalists who see Copenhagen as the last chance to lock countries into an agreement to reduced GHGs.