Emissions Reductions Under Pollution Reduction Proposals in the 111th U.S. Congress

This World Resources Institute analysis assesses the potential net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions relative to 2005 U.S. levels that could be achieved by three pollution reduction proposals in the 111th Congress: the American Power Act (APA), the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act (CLEARA), and the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA). The analysis evaluates these proposals across three scenarios: emissions caps only, caps plus complementary requirements, and a range of potential additional reductions.

• The American Power Act (APA) emissions caps alone would achieve net GHG reductions of 14 percent relative to 2005 levels by 2020 and 72 percent by 2050.
• When including complementary requirements, the APA could reduce net GHG emissions by 15 percent relative to 2005 levels by 2020 and 73 percent by 2050. If additional potential reductions are also considered, these figures increase to 19 percent by 2020 and 77 percent by 2050, though the actual outcome depends on the quality and quantity of international offsets.
• The APA and ACESA both require greater net annual GHG reductions than the CLEARA. However, the APA's later start year of 2013 and the delay of including some sources until 2016 result in slightly fewer reductions during the first five years of the program compared to the ACESA.
• The analysis excludes reductions that would require additional congressional action to be realized. This includes certain APA programs that are either unfunded or subject to further congressional action, as well as the targets set by CLEARA, which would also require additional congressional action to be met.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Emissions Reductions Under Pollution Reduction Proposals in the 111th U.S. Congress. https://www.wri.org/research/emissions-reductions-under-pollution-reduction-proposals-111th-us-congress

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Emissions Reductions Under Pollution Reduction Proposals in the 111th U.S. Congress. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/emissions-reductions-under-pollution-reduction-proposals-111th-us-congress.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Emissions Reductions Under Pollution Reduction Proposals in the 111th U.S. Congress |url=https://www.wri.org/research/emissions-reductions-under-pollution-reduction-proposals-111th-us-congress |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendemissions, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Emissions Reductions Under Pollution Reduction Proposals in the 111th U.S. Congress}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/emissions-reductions-under-pollution-reduction-proposals-111th-us-congress}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }