By Scott Bland

(AXcess News) Washington - As the cap and trade climate bill works its way through the House of Representatives, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., remains undecided on the legislation.

The proposed law, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, would establish a market for carbon pollution credits that would shrink each year, forcing the United States to reduce carbon emissions to less than one-fifth of current levels by 2050.

Ellsworth, who represents the Evansville area, in the southwestern part of the state, will have to take a stand soon. The House is expected to begin debate on the bill Friday. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wants the House to vote on the bill before its July 4 recess, which begins Monday.

It is not the concept of carbon reductions but rather the precise requirements in the bill that give Ellsworth pause.

"I believe climate change poses a threat to our planet, and the United States has a responsibility, with the help of other countries, to reduce our contribution to the problem," Ellsworth said in a statement. "We must be mindful of its potential adverse effects on consumers and businesses that could undermine our economic recovery."

Though the Democratic authors of the legislation made specific concessions to earn the support of Midwestern and conservative Democrats, the makeup of Ellsworth's 8th District gives him a lot to weigh.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration, Indiana gets 94 percent of its electricity from coal, a high-carbon fuel. Most of the state's coal mines are clustered in the southwest part of the state, in and around Ellsworth's district. Households and the manufacturing industry also take advantage of electricity rates that are low because of coal. The state has the ninth lowest rates in the country in 2007, according to the EIA.

Indiana's reliance on coal means the state would be disproportionately affected by any price increases as a result of a carbon regulation scheme. The cap and trade legislation could affect Ellsworth's constituents even more than people in the rest of the state.

Ellsworth's hometown newspaper, the Evansville Courier & Press, asked online readers to record their opinions on the cap and trade bill. More than two-thirds of 539 participants so far have said that Ellsworth should vote against the bill.

A study of carbon emissions data from 2002 by the Vulcan Project, at Purdue University's Department of Earth and Atmospheric Science, shows that five of the top 100 carbon-emitting counties in the United States, in tons of carbon emissions per person, are in Ellsworth's district.

The counties are Pike, Gibson, Vermillion, Sullivan and Warrick.

Some money raised through the sale of pollution credits would funnel into an energy credit for consumers. But the electricity and manufacturing industries would also have to make an expensive shift away from high-carbon fuels like coal.

The bill contains money to retrain workers and invest in green industry. In his statement, Ellsworth said he is "encouraged by ... the assistance companies in states like Indiana will receive to transition to greener energy sources."

But according to his office, he believes the cap and trade bill needs significant work.

The issue that will ultimately drive Ellsworth's decision is exactly what the net effects of the cap and trade legislation would be. Costs of coal-based power will rise, but proponents of the bill say that lucrative new opportunities with alternative energy sources will rise with them.

In a hearing before the House Agriculture Committee June 10, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack answered questions from Ellsworth and other lawmakers about the effects of a cap and trade system on farmers. Vilsack highlighted the importance of looking beyond potential costs and noting future benefits.

"Failure to lead could result in significant global temperature increases," Vilsack said. "Will there be increased costs? Yes. But if we structure this right, the opportunities will be beneficial."

Interest groups in Indiana are pushing Ellsworth from both sides.

The Indiana Partnership for Fair and Affordable Energy, a group of nonprofit electricity providers, is lobbying the state's congressional delegation to oppose the cap and trade bill unless they can soften its costs for Indiana's energy companies. Chris Tryba, communications manager for partnership member Hoosier Energy, said the bill will not grant the state enough pollution credits to let it make a smooth transition from coal to cleaner fuels.

"There just isn't the technology now to capture carbon from coal plants," Tryba said. "It's a matter of the extent of the allowances currently slated for Indiana and the time schedule. The extreme reductions scheduled for 2020 could be an issue."

The bill calls for a 17 percent reduction by 2020.

Groups are also petitioning Ellsworth on the environmental and green industry benefits of cap and trade. Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, discussed cap and trade proposals with Ellsworth several months ago alongside representatives from United Steelworkers.

Kharbanda said Ellsworth expressed concern about the potential effect on the coal industry and on Indiana's electricity rates. The steelworkers responded with a pitch for green manufacturing jobs like the production of windmill parts for wind-generated electricity.

"We had those gentlemen talk about renewable jobs that could come from cap and trade," Kharbanda said.

Source: Scripps Howard Foundation Wire