Stakes high for climate/energy bill (Boston)

As two New England senators unveiled a climate and energy bill to widespread uncertainty last week, Boston-area clean-tech executives said failure to pass some form of energy legislation this year would be a setback for the small but growing industry.

The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, calls for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent by the end of the decade from 2005 levels, by 42 percent as of 2030 and by 83 percent as of 2050.

The bill would also institute a national cap-and-trade program that would replace the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which charges power plants in New England and four other states for the right to emit carbon dioxide.

But uncertainty persisted about whether the bill will even be debated this year. A key former co-sponsor, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, remained on the sidelines this week, and questions about the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill appeared to threaten the bill’s chances, due to provisions in the bill to expand offshore drilling.

Some clean-tech executives said the business stakes are high for passing a sweeping energy and climate bill — the sooner the better.

“If we won’t address climate and energy, or if we don’t address it long term, we will end up being a customer for solutions that get commercialized overseas,” said Peter Rothstein, president of the New England Clean Energy Council. “We will switch from importing oil to importing clean energy technology.”

Read the full story in the Boston Business Journal.