[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44022-44023]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-21024]



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COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY


Review of Climate Change Action Plan

AGENCY: Council on Environmental Quality.

ACTION: Request for public comment; notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is seeking comments 
from the public as part of its efforts to review and update the Climate 
Change Action Plan (CCAP). CEQ invites interested parties to provide 
comments on all aspects of the existing CCAP, and suggestions for its 
modification, for consideration by the Council as it conducts its 
biennial review of the plan. Comments should be submitted to CEQ at the 
address provided below by September 25, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen R. Seidel, Special Coordinator for Climate Change, Council on 
Environmental Quality, 722 Jackson Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503. 
202-395-3706.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In October 1993, President Clinton announced 
this nation's Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP). The CCAP had as its 
goal to return greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 
2000. To accomplish this objective, the plan laid out nearly 50 
initiatives that relied extensively on innovative voluntary 
partnerships between the private sector and government aimed at 
producing cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. It 
primarily focussed on the creation of market incentives, rather than 
the imposition of new regulatory measures. The plan was comprehensive 
in scope. It covered all major greenhouse gases, contained activities 
in all major sectors emitting these compounds, focussed on both 
reducing emissions and enhancing sinks, and contained measures aimed at 
reducing energy demand and expanding alternative sources of supply. Key 
elements of the plan are being undertaken by the Department of Energy, 
Department of Transportation, the Department of Agriculture, and the 
Environmental Protection Agency.
    The CCAP also serves as a key element of the U.S. effort to meet 
its obligation to mitigate climate change under the Framework 
Convention on Climate Change.
    The plan also called for biennial reviews of its implementation to 
determine what, if any, revisions might be required. The first such 
review of the plan has recently been initiated with a goal of issuing a 
report by December of this year. This notice is aimed at soliciting 
public comment on the plan and its implementation, and any suggestions 
for its modification.
    Comments may address any aspect of the CCAP. The following issues 
are indicative of those that may be addressed during this review and 
for which comment is explicitly encouraged:

--To what extent have individual actions under the CCAP resulted in 
actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to enhance sinks? What 
modifications in existing actions appear warranted?
--What additional cost-effective opportunities exist to achieve 
reductions in emissions or enhancements of sinks of greenhouse gases 
prior to the year 2000?
--What actions, not now included in the plan, might be possible that 
would achieve significant emission reductions or sink enhancements 
after the year 2000? How would they be implemented and what would be 
their likely costs and impacts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or 
enhancing sinks?
--To what extent are modifications in the 1990 and 2000 baseline cases 

[[Page 44023]]
(assuming no action was taken) required to reflect more recent 
information? What impact will such modifications have on the plan?
--Is the general approach of the action plan, which relies extensively 
on voluntary measures, appropriate in the near-term or in the period 
after the year 2000? What other general approaches exist and what would 
be the advantages and disadvantages of any alternative strategies?
--To what extent are modifications in the existing plan's 1990 and 2000 
baseline cases (assuming no action was taken) required to reflect more 
recent information? What impact will such modifications have on the 
plan?

    Written comments should be submitted in triplicate by September 25, 
1995 to the address specified above. Comments will be kept on file and 
available for public inspection at CEQ's offices. A public meeting to 
present comments will be held on September 22, 1995 in the Truman Room 
at 726 Jackson Place, NW, Washington, DC at 9:00 a.m. Parties 
interested in making presentations should contact the CEQ official 
listed above ten days prior to the date of the hearing.

    Dated: August 21, 1995.
Elisabeth Blaug,
Associate General Counsel, Council on Environmental Quality.
[FR Doc. 95-21024 Filed 8-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3125-01-M