Detailed Summary

Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 200<NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS >7</national> - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish and maintain the National Greenhouse Gas Database to collect, verify, and analyze information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Establishes a program for market-driven reduction of GHGs through the use of tradeable allowances. Requires certain covered entities that own or control a source of GHG emissions in the electric power, industrial, and commercial sectors of the U.S. economy to submit to the Administrator, beginning in 2012, one tradeable allowance for every metric ton of GHGs emitted. Requires the Administrator to establish a declining cap on tradeable allowances to reduce GHG emissions over time. Allows tradeable allowances to be sold, exchanged, purchased, retired, borrowed, offset, or otherwise used as permitted by this Act.

Requires the Administrator to establish a program to allow covered entities to earn tradable allowances from developing countries' activities that result in certified emission reductions.

Establishes the Climate Change Credit Corporation to manage tradeable allowances.

Requires the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) establish a Climate Technology Financing Board; (2) study technology transfer barriers, best practices, and technology transfer activities at federal laboratories related to the licensing and commercialization of technologies that result in reduced GHG emissions, increased ability to adapt to climate change impacts, or increased sequestration of GHGs; (3) analyze business opportunities available for climate change technologies; (4) establish a nonprofit government sponsored enterprise for providing investment in private sector technologies that show promise for climate change adaptation and mitigation applications; (5) create a program of public-private partnerships for climate innovation; (6) establish a national program to ensure that lessons learned and best practices concerning energy efficiency and GHG emission reductions are available to the public; (7) carry out a program of scientific research on potential abrupt climate change; (8) carry out a Climate Technology Challenge Program to award funding to stimulate innovation in technologies for reducing GHG emissions; (9) establish a program to reduce GHG emissions through deployment of energy efficiency measures by large commercial customers by providing for energy audits; (10) establish, operate, and report on a research and development program focused on advanced once-through fuel cycles, a Nuclear System Modeling project to evaluate the cost, safety, waste management, and proliferation avoidance and resistance of fuel cycles, and an Advanced Diversified Waste-Disposal Research Program; (11) establish a demonstration program to reduce the first-time regulatory costs of the current Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process incurred by the first applicant using an advanced reactor design; (12) establish a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of retooling an existing vehicle or component manufacturing facility to reduce vehicle GHG emissions and of increasing competitiveness of advanced technology vehicle production facilities; (13) establish guidelines for setting project baselines for reductions of GHG emissions and GHG storage in geological formations; (14) submit a climate change adaptation plan for the United States; and (15) conduct research on the impact of climate change on low-income populations everywhere in the world.

Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to: (1) implement a plan to increase and establish priorities for funding research in the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change; and (2) establish a climate change science and technology enhancement program for math and science teachers.

Establishes a National Medal of Climate Stewardship Innovation.

Requires the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to determine the extent to which changes to the patent system are necessary to increase the flow of climate change-related technologies.

Requires the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a research program on global climate change standards and processes to provide knowledge on the reduction of GHGs.

Provides for establishment of a joint competitive, merit-based research program to fund low- or zero-emissions transportation proposals.

Requires the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to: (1) establish an interagency panel to establish standards for measurement of sequestered carbon; (2) establish a program on adaptation technologies and assess the climate change technological needs of various regions of the country; (3) perform one national and six regional infrastructure cost assessments to provide estimates of the range of costs anticipated for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

Status of the Legislation

Latest Major Action: 7/24/2007: Senate committee/subcommittee actions. Status: Committee on Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection. Hearings held.

Points in Favor

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Points Against

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