Friends of the Earth Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill

Friends of the Earth criticizes the Kerry-Boxer draft climate bill for failing to meet scientific requirements for emissions reductions and for including unreliable offsets and subsidies for 'dirty energy' technologies.

• The draft bill's emissions reduction targets of approximately 20 percent below 2005 levels are insufficient, as science requires at least a 40% reduction compared to 1990 levels by 2020 to avoid climate catastrophe.
• The bill is criticized for allowing up to 2 billion tons of unreliable offsets annually, which undermines the emissions cap and delays the transition to a low-carbon economy.
• The draft bill is viewed as supporting 'dirty energy' by providing subsidies for carbon capture and sequestration, nuclear reactors, and coal plant capture, alongside ambiguous incentives for biofuels.
• The bill allows methane sources, such as natural gas pipelines, coal mines, and landfills, to voluntarily capture methane for offset payments rather than requiring regulation.

APA

Pica, E. (2009). Friends of the Earth Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/news/2009-09-friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-the-kerry-boxer-dr/

Chicago

Pica, Erich. Friends of the Earth Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill. Friends of the Earth, 2009. https://foe.org/news/2009-09-friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-the-kerry-boxer-dr/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pica |first1=Erich |title=Friends of the Earth Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=30 September 2009 |url=https://foe.org/news/2009-09-friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-the-kerry-boxer-dr/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pica2009friends, author = {Pica, Erich}, title = {{Friends of the Earth Statement on the Kerry-Boxer Draft Climate Bill}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2009}, month = sep, url = {https://foe.org/news/2009-09-friends-of-the-earth-statement-on-the-kerry-boxer-dr/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }