Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Oct 10, 1998
Credit for Voluntary Early Action Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the President to enter into legally binding early action agreements with any person under which the United States agrees to provide greenhouse gas reduction credit usable beginning in the first compliance period during which a domestic greenhouse gas regulatory statute takes effect if such person reduces greenhouse gas emissions or sequesters carbon before 2008. Requires a participant to receive greenhouse gas reduction credit under such an agreement if such participant takes an action that: (1) reduces such emissions or sequesters carbon before 2008; and (2) will result in an addition to the U.S. quantified emission limitation for the first compliance period under any applicable international agreement. Authorizes agreements to entitle a participant to receive credit for a reduction or sequestration that is not creditable under such requirements and is for a project accepted before 2000 under the U.S. Initiative for Joint Implementation. Limits the period in which credit may be earned to the earlier of the earliest date on which credit may be earned for a reduction, sequestration, or comparable project under an international agreement or December 31, 2007. Grants a participant credit if, during the 1999 through 2007 period, the participant's aggregate greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources covered by the agreement are less than the sum of the participant's annual source baselines during such period. Treats the amount by which the aggregate net carbon sequestration for such period in a participant's domestic carbon reservoirs exceeds the sum of the annual reservoir baselines for such period as an emission reduction. Sets forth circumstances under which a participant is entitled to receive one ton of reduction credit for reductions or sequestration for 1991 through 1998. Authorizes an extension of the period during which credit may be earned if the Congress so permits by law. Entitles participants, on January 1, 2008, to one ton of reduction credit for each creditable ton. Establishes annual source or reservoir baselines equal to a participant's average annual greenhouse gas emissions from domestic sources or average level of carbon stocks in reservoirs during a 1996 through 1998 base period, with specified adjustments. Provides for alternative base periods if data is unavailable or unrepresentative. Authorizes participants to elect a base period earlier than 1996 through 1998 (excluding years earlier than 1990) to reflect voluntary reductions made before 1996. Requires agreements to cover all greenhouse gas sources that a participant owns on the date on which an agreement is entered into. Permits agreements to exclude small or diverse sources or sources owned by more than one person. Authorizes coverage for other owned sources and reservoirs. Permits the President to enter into agreements that do not meet this Act's requirements with participants that manufacture or construct for sale to end-users equipment or facilities that emit greenhouse gases if such requirements are infeasible and such agreements would achieve comparable tonnage reductions. Permits participants to purchase credit from and sell credit to other participants and sell credit to non-participants. Authorizes pooling arrangements under which a group of participants acts as a single participant for purposes of entering into an agreement. Requires agreements to provide that: (1) credit earned under an agreement shall be provided in addition to any otherwise available authorizations of the participant to emit greenhouse gases in the first compliance period under a domestic statute; and (2) if the allocation of authorizations under such statute is based on the level of a participant's emissions in a historic period later than the participant's base period under the agreement, any credit to which the participant was entitled during such historic period shall be added back to the participant's emissions level for such period.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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