I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2215 

To provide a reduction in the aggregate greenhouse gas emissions per unit 

of energy consumed by vehicles and aircraft, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2007 

Mr. INSLEE (for himself, Mr. FARR, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HONDA, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

MARKEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. 

VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To provide a reduction in the aggregate greenhouse gas 

emissions per unit of energy consumed by vehicles and 

aircraft, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CLEAN AIR ACT AMENDMENT. 

4 The Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE VII—GREENHOUSE GAS 

2 EMISSIONS FROM VEHICLE 

3 AND AIRCRAFT FUELS 

4 ‘‘SEC. 701. PURPOSE. 

5 ‘‘The purpose of this title is to provide a reduction 

6 in the aggregate greenhouse gas emissions per unit of en7 ergy consumed by vehicles and aircraft. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 702. FINDINGS. 

9 ‘‘The Congress finds that: 

10 ‘‘(1) The United States consumes a quarter of 

11 the world’s oil and the oil used in transportation ac12 counts for a third of the United States emissions of 

13 the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. 

14 ‘‘(2) To avoid catastrophic global warming, the 

15 United States should take decisive action with other 

16 nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 to 

17 80 percent by 2050. 

18 ‘‘(3) Transitioning our transportation sector to 

19 more efficient use of oil and low-carbon petroleum 

20 alternatives is essential to reducing global warming 

21 pollution. 

22 ‘‘(4) It is necessary and feasible to reduce emis23 sions of greenhouse gases, enhance national security 

24 by reducing dependence on oil and promote economic 

25 well-being without sacrificing land, water and air 


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1 quality, by enacting energy policies that motivate en2 vironmental performance. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 703. DEFINITIONS. 

4 ‘‘For purposes of this title: 

5 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Adminis6 trator’ means the Administrator of the Environ7 mental Protection Agency. 

8 ‘‘(2) CARBON DIOXIDE EQUIVALENT.—With re9 spect to each greenhouse gas, the term ‘carbon diox10 ide equivalent’ means the amount of the greenhouse 

11 gas resulting from that fuel that traps the same 

12 amount of heat as one metric ton of carbon dioxide, 

13 as determined by the Administrator. 

14 ‘‘(3) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘greenhouse 

15 gas’ means carbon dioxide, hydrofluorocarbons, 

16 methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, sulfur 

17 hexafluoride, and any other anthropogenically-emit18 ted gas that is determined by the Administrator, 

19 after notice and comment, to contribute to global 

20 warming to a non-negligible degree. 

21 ‘‘(4) LIFECYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMIS22 SIONS.—The term ‘lifecycle greenhouse gas emis23 sions’ means greenhouse gases emitted during the 

24 entire cycle of extraction, cultivation, production, 

25 manufacturing, feedstock extraction, marketing, and 


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1 distribution for a fuel or other sources of energy, as 

2 well as those emitted during the use of such fuels 

3 and sources by vehicles and aircraft. The term in4 cludes changes in land use and land cover associated 

5 with each phase of such cycle. 

6 ‘‘(5) VEHICLE.—The term ‘vehicle’ means a 

7 motor vehicle as defined in section 216 and any 

8 other device used for the transportation of persons 

9 or goods (other than an aircraft). 

10 ‘‘SEC. 704. LOW CARBON FUEL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. 

11 ‘‘(a) VEHICLE FUEL STANDARD.—Not later than 

12 January 1, 2010, the Administrator shall promulgate low 

13 carbon fuel performance standards for fuels and other 

14 sources of energy used to propel vehicles. Such standards 

15 shall begin to apply in the year 2015. 

16 ‘‘(b) GRADUATED REDUCTIONS FOR VEHICLE

17 FUEL.—The Administrator shall promulgate, by rule, a 

18 declining standard for each 5 calendar year period begin19 ning in 2015. Each such standard shall represent a grad20 uated percentage reduction in aggregate emissions of 

21 greenhouse gases per Btu in each 5-year period after 2014 

22 through 2050 as provided in the following table. The re23 duction for each such period shall be measured from the 

24 baseline for vehicle fuel, as determined by the Adminis25 trator under subsection (f). 


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‘‘5-year period Percent reduction

2015 through 2019 ................................................ 3 percent

2020 through 2024 ................................................ 6 percent

2025 through 2029 ................................................ 9 percent

2030 through 2034 ................................................ 12 percent

2035through 2039 .................................................. 15 percent

2040 through 2044 ................................................ 18 percent

2045 through 2049 ................................................ 21 percent. 

1 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REDUCTIONS.—Each 5 years dur2 ing the period 2015 through 2050 the Administrator shall 

3 review available control technology, safety considerations, 

4 and land and other resources available for production of 

5 fuels and other sources of energy used to propel vehicles. 

6 Following such review, the Administrator may, by rule, 

7 promulgate a more stringent standard than the standard 

8 otherwise applicable under subsection (b) which more 

9 stringent standard, based on such review, the Adminis10 trator determines to be requisite to protect the public 

11 health and welfare from any known or anticipated adverse 

12 effects associated with greenhouse gas emissions. 

13 ‘‘(d) STANDARD FOR AIRCRAFT FUEL.—Not later 

14 than January 1, 2010, the Administrator shall promulgate 

15 a low carbon fuel performance standard for fuels and 

16 other sources of energy used by aircraft. The performance 

17 standard for such fuels and other sources of energy for 

18 aircraft for each year after 2015 shall be the baseline for 

19 that fuel, as determined by the Administrator under sub20 section (f). Such standard shall begin to apply in the year 

21 2015 and continue to apply through the calendar year 


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1 2019. The standard shall remain in effect thereafter un2 less, for each 5 year period thereafter, beginning in 2020, 

3 the Administrator and the Secretary of Transportation de4 termine that a more stringent standard is necessary to 

5 carry out the purposes of this Act. Such determination 

6 may be made only after a thorough review of available 

7 technology and safety considerations. Following such de8 termination, the Administrator shall promulgate a rule es9 tablishing a more stringent standard. 

10 ‘‘(e) TERMS OF STANDARDS.—Each standard under 

11 this section shall be expressed in carbon dioxide, or carbon 

12 dioxide equivalent, emissions per Btu of energy from the 

13 aggregate of all fuels and other sources of energy used 

14 by vehicles or by aircraft. 

15 ‘‘(f) BASELINE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) VEHICLE FUEL.—The baseline for vehicle 

17 fuel for purposes of the standards under this section 

18 shall be the aggregate greenhouse gas emissions per 

19 Btu from all such fuel and other sources of energy 

20 used by vehicles in calendar year 2007, as deter21 mined by the Administrator. 

22 ‘‘(2) AIRCRAFT FUEL.—For fuel used by air23 craft, the baseline for purposes of the standard 

24 under this section shall be the aggregate greenhouse 

25 gas emissions per Btu from all such fuel and other 


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1 sources of energy used by aircraft in calendar year 

2 2007, as determined by the Administrator. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 705. EPA REGULATIONS; CALCULATION OF EMIS4 SIONS PER BTU. 

5 ‘‘(a) REGULATIONS.—After consultation with the 

6 Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Commerce, and 

7 a review of all compliance methods, the Administrator, 

8 after notice and opportunity for comment, shall promul9 gate, not later than January 1, 2010, and may periodically 

10 revise thereafter, regulations requiring compliance with 

11 the annual performance standards established under sec12 tion 703. 

13 ‘‘(b) CALCULATIONS OF GREENHOUSE EMISSION

14 RATE PER BTU.— 

15 ‘‘(1) INDIVIDUAL CALCULATIONS UNDER

16 STANDARD METHODOLOGY.—The regulations under 

17 this section shall provide standard, transparent and 

18 public methods for each producer, importer, or 

19 blender of a fuel or other source of energy used, di20 rectly or indirectly, as a fuel for vehicles or aircraft 

21 to calculate the greenhouse gases emitted per Btu of 

22 such fuel or other source of energy when so used. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIFECYCLE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION

24 CALCULATION.—The regulations under this section 

25 shall include appropriate methods for estimating the 


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1 lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of each fuel and 

2 other energy source. For purposes of such regula3 tions, the Administrator shall develop methods to 

4 quantify the direct and indirect emissions resulting 

5 from biofuel production. 

6 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL ADJUSTMENT FOR ELECTRICITY

7 AND HYDROGEN.—In making the calculation under 

8 this subsection, the Administrator shall adjust the 

9 Btus of energy delivered from the use of electricity 

10 and hydrogen used as a fuel or source of energy for 

11 vehicles and aircraft. Such adjustment shall reflect 

12 the greenhouse gas reductions on a per mile basis in 

13 order to reflect the inherent energy efficiency of an 

14 average battery electric, plug in hybrid electric vehi15 cle, or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. 

16 ‘‘(4) NAS REPORT.—The Administrator shall, 

17 not less than 90 days after the enactment of this 

18 Act, enter into a contract with the National Acad19 emy of Sciences to assess and recommend methods 

20 to calculate the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions 

21 associated with the production and use of fuels and 

22 other sources of energy used as a fuel for vehicles 

23 and aircraft. 

24 ‘‘(5) CONSULTATION.—In developing regula25 tions under this section, the Administrator shall conVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:16 May 11, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2215.IH H2215

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1 sult with State agencies and other government enti2 ties within and outside the United States having 

3 programs for control of greenhouse gas emissions 

4 from vehicle fuels and shall promulgate such regula5 tions after consideration of the report under para6 graph (4). 

7 ‘‘SEC. 706. COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARD. 

8 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO MEET STANDARD.—The reg9 ulations under this title shall provide that each producer, 

10 importer or blender of a fuel or other source of energy 

11 used for transportation by vehicles or aircraft shall be re12 quired to generate or obtain in each calendar year after 

13 2009 credits equal to the excess, if any, of paragraph (1) 

14 over paragraph (2) multiplied by paragraph (3). No pro15 ducer, importer, or blender shall be required to obtain 

16 credits if the fuel or other source of energy meets the ag17 gregate performance standard under section 703 for the 

18 calendar year concerned. 

19 ‘‘(1) The greenhouse gases (expressed as carbon 

20 dioxide or carbon dioxide equivalent) emitted per 

21 Btu of fuel or other energy produced, imported, or 

22 blended by such producer, importer, or blender in 

23 the calendar year concerned. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The aggregate performance standard for 

2 all such producers, importer, or blenders established 

3 under section 703 for the calendar year concerned. 

4 ‘‘(3) The total number of Btus used in vehicles 

5 and aircraft that is provided by the fuel or other en6 ergy produced, imported, or blended by such pro7 ducer, importer or blender in the year concerned. 

8 ‘‘(b) GENERATION, TRADING, AND BANKING OF

9 CREDITS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) CREDIT GENERATION.—For each calendar 

11 year after the calendar year 2014, each producer, 

12 importer or blender of each fuel or other source of 

13 energy used, for transportation by vehicles or air14 craft shall be credited with greenhouse gas emission 

15 credits equal to the excess, if any, of paragraph (2) 

16 of subsection (a) over paragraph (1) of subsection 

17 (a) multiplied by paragraph (3) of subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘(2) TRADING.—The regulations under this 

19 section shall allow purchase, sale, and trading of 

20 such allowance producers, importers and blenders, 

21 and other persons. Credits generated this section 

22 may be held and traded by any person. Credits 

23 under this section do not constitute a property right, 

24 and nothing in any provision of law shall be conVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:16 May 11, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2215.IH H2215

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1 strued to limit the authority of the United States to 

2 terminate or limit any such credit. 

3 ‘‘(3) BANKING.—Credits generated under this 

4 section may be used in the year in which they are 

5 generated and in the following calendar year. 

6 ‘‘(c) MONITORING.—The Administrator shall promul7 gate rules to ensure that greenhouse gas emissions and 

8 the use of credits generated under this section are accu9 rately tracked, reported, and verified. 

10 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any fuel or other source 

12 of energy used, directly or indirectly, by vehicles ex13 ceeds in any calendar year the standard established 

14 under this section and the producer, importer or 

15 blender thereof has not acquired credits to offset 

16 such excess, the producer, importer or blender shall 

17 pay a civil penalty in an amount determined under 

18 paragraph (2). 

19 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTY.—The amount 

20 of the civil penalty under this subsection shall be 

21 twice the market price for the credits that would be 

22 necessary for such producer, blender, or importer to 

23 meet the standard for the fuel or energy source con24 cerned. The Administrator shall establish the meth25 od of determining such market price. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NO DEMAND REQUIRED.—A civil penalty 

2 under this subsection shall be due and payable to 

3 the Administrator without demand. 

4 ‘‘(4) CIVIL ACTION.—The Administrator may 

5 bring a civil action in the appropriate United States 

6 district court to recover the amount of any civil pen7 alty due and payable under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 707. CERTIFICATION AND LABELING OF LOW-CARBON 

9 TRANSPORTATION FUELS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IDENTIFICATION.—Not later than January 1, 

11 2009, the Administrator shall identify and label low-car12 bon transportation fuels based on the following criteria. 

13 ‘‘(1) The fuel is responsible for at least 20 per14 cent lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions per 

15 Btu delivered compared to the 2007 baseline. 

16 ‘‘(2) The fuel is likely to have fewer adverse im17 pacts on wildlife habitat, biodiversity, water quality 

18 or air quality over the lifecycle of the fuel, than con19 ventional transportation fuels. 

20 ‘‘(3) The fuel achieves reduction in petroleum 

21 content over its lifecycle. 

22 In the case of electric energy and hydrogen used, directly 

23 or indirectly, as a fuel or source of energy for vehicles, 

24 the Administrator shall apply the special adjustment facVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:16 May 11, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2215.IH H2215

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1 tor referred to in section 705(b)(3) in identifying low-car2 bon transportation fuels. 

3 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than January 1, 

4 2009, the Administrator shall establish a low-carbon fuel 

5 certification process to certify fuels that the Administrator 

6 has identified as low-carbon fuels, make that certification 

7 information available to consumers. Under regulations 

8 promulgated by the Administrator any person manufac9 turing, importing, or distributing low-carbon fuels may 

10 provide labeling for such fuels in accordance with regula11 tions promulgated by the Administrator and promote pub12 lic awareness of those fuels. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 708. FUEL SAFEGUARDS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Community Fire Safety Zone’ 

16 means the immediate vicinity of buildings and other 

17 areas regularly occupied by people, or of infrastruc18 ture, at risk of wildfire. 

19 ‘‘(2) The term ‘Ecosystem conversion’ means 

20 altering the native habitat to such an extent that it 

21 no longer supports most characteristic native species 

22 and ecological processes. 

23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘native habitat’ means dynamic 

24 groupings of native plant and animal communities 

25 that occur together on the landscape or in the water 


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1 and are tied together by similar ecological processes, 

2 underlying environmental features such as geology, 

3 or environmental gradients such as elevation, but 

4 does not include land that is currently in agricul5 tural production. 

6 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL INTEREST LANDS.—The term 

7 ‘National interest lands’ means areas designated as 

8 national wildlife refuges, national forests, or national 

9 grasslands, areas managed by the National Park 

10 Service (including national parks and monuments), 

11 and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Manage12 ment. 

13 ‘‘(5) The term ‘Community Fire Safety Zone’ 

14 means the immediate vicinity of buildings and other 

15 areas regularly occupied by people, or of infrastruc16 ture, at risk of wildfire. 

17 ‘‘(6) The term ‘Sensitive Lands’ means old 

18 growth forests; roadless areas on national forests, 

19 wilderness study areas; native grasslands; intact, 

20 rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems; and any 

21 area containing significant concentrations of bio22 diversity values including endemism, endangered 

23 species, high species richness, and refugia. 

24 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Under regulations of the Admin25 istrator, no transportation fuel sold in interstate comVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:16 May 11, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2215.IH H2215

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1 merce after January 1, 2010 may be derived all or in part 

2 from biomass from the following sources: 

3 ‘‘(1) Lands where the Administrator determines 

4 that ecosystem conversion has occurred after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act. 

6 ‘‘(2) Sensitive Lands. 

7 ‘‘(3) Land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve 

8 Program established under subchapter B of chapter 

9 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act 

10 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) or the wetlands re11 serves program established under subchapter C of 

12 chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se13 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.), unless 

14 the biomass is produced in a manner consistent with 

15 all applicable guidelines and terms, and conditions 

16 under the program. 

17 ‘‘(4) National interest lands with the exception 

18 of either of the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) Harvest residue, mill waste, or pre20 commercial thinnings, from lands assigned to 

21 timber production. 

22 ‘‘(B) Biomass obtained from a Community 

23 Fire Safety Zone. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Recyclable postconsumer waste paper, 

2 painted, treated, or pressurized wood, wood contami3 nated with plastic or metals. 

4 ‘‘(6) Municipal solid waste (as defined in the 

5 Solid Waste Disposal Act). 

6 ‘‘(7) Materials produced, harvested, acquired, 

7 transported, or processed pursuant to an exemption 

8 from otherwise applicable environmental laws or 

9 rules. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 709. AIR QUALITY IMPACTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall ensure, 

12 under regulation, that no transportation fuel sold or intro13 duced in interstate commerce after January 1, 2010 shall 

14 result in— 

15 ‘‘(1) average per gallon vehicle emissions (meas16 ure on a mass basis) of air pollutants in excess of 

17 the quantity of those emissions attributable to gaso18 line sold or introduced into commerce in the United 

19 States during calendar year 2007; or 

20 ‘‘(2) a violation of any motor vehicle emission 

21 or fuel content limitation under any other provision 

22 of this Act. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 710. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. 

24 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec25 retary of Energy such sums as may be necessary carry 


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1 out a cooperative program of research and development 

2 relating to lower carbon alternatives for aircraft jet fuel 

3 and fuel for other vehicles. The program shall provide for 

4 matching Federal grants to private entities carrying out 

5 such research and development. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 711. STATE LAWS. 

7 ‘‘Nothing in this title shall be interpreted to preempt 

8 or limit State actions to address climate change.’’. 

Æ 


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