US climate change bill – how international provisions work
Author: Andrew W. Shoyer, Sidley Austin LLP
The cap-and-trade program takes effect in the United States in 2012.
Soon after enactment, the President must notify other countries that it is US policy to address climate change through international agreements, request that other countries take appropriate measures to limit their GHG emissions, and indicate that imported goods may be subject to international reserve allowance requirements beginning in 2020.
U.S. producers in carbon- and trade-intensive industrial sectors will get free allowances (in the form of rebates) for 2012 through 2025, and rebates will phase out from 2025 until 2035.