House Green Economy Bill Falls Short

Friends of the Earth criticizes H.R. 2454, stating it fails to mandate actual U.S. emissions reductions until 2030 and weakens the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act. The organization contends the bill prioritizes polluting industries and Wall Street through free pollution permits and carbon market loopholes, thereby undermining U.S. global leadership and job creation in green industries.

• The bill (H.R. 2454) is deemed inadequate for preventing catastrophic climate change because it does not require actual U.S. emissions reductions until 2030, despite the need for a 40 percent reduction in domestic heat-trapping gas emissions by 2020.
• The legislation limits the Obama administration's capacity to address climate change by removing heat-trapping gases from essential Clean Air Act protections.
• The bill's Renewable Electricity Standard is criticized for failing to generate additional clean energy beyond what would have occurred naturally over the next 20 years, hindering U.S. job growth in green manufacturing.
• The bill is described as benefiting polluting industries and financial institutions through the provision of free pollution permits worth hundreds of billions and the creation of carbon markets susceptible to Wall Street influence.
• The bill undermines the United States' position in international climate treaty negotiations by under-funding investments for global clean energy distribution and support for vulnerable communities.

APA

Fox, A. (2009). House Green Economy Bill Falls Short. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/2009-06-house-green-economy-bill-falls-short/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. House Green Economy Bill Falls Short. Friends of the Earth, 2009. https://foe.org/blog/2009-06-house-green-economy-bill-falls-short/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=House Green Economy Bill Falls Short |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=9 June 2009 |url=https://foe.org/blog/2009-06-house-green-economy-bill-falls-short/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2009house, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{House Green Economy Bill Falls Short}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2009}, month = jun, url = {https://foe.org/blog/2009-06-house-green-economy-bill-falls-short/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }