Dear Senator:
While we recognize the great achievement in the passage of the “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” by the House of Representatives, we are concerned that the bill falls short on many important issues.
We are particularly concerned that adaptation funding be sufficient to ensure that poor communities, which have done nothing to create the problem of climate change, will have the support they need to adapt to its impacts. As you prepare to draft and eventually vote on the Senate climate bill, we urge you to include the following:
1. An ambitious U.S. emissions reduction target equivalent to at least 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020;
2. A 100 percent auction of pollution permits;
3. At least $7 billion to be transferred to developing countries for adaptation;
4. At least $5 billion to be transferred to developing countries for clean technology transfer; and
5. Provisions for at least 40 percent of the funding to be directed towards a UNFCCC multilateral climate fund.
