As interest grows in a Senate proposal to calculate the emissions intensity of industrial materials produced in the U.S., two lawmakers are getting ready to introduce companion legislation in the House.
It will mark an important step for the “Providing Reliable, Objective, Verifiable Emissions Intensity and Transparency (PROVE IT) Act,” which is being viewed as a first step in building support for a policy known as a carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM, that would impose tariffs on carbon-intensive imports.
Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.) will be the lead sponsors of a House version of the “PROVE IT Act,” their offices confirmed to E&E News on Thursday.
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Republicans who have signed onto the bill so far, Cramer and Coons reiterated at an event hosted by the Climate Leadership Council on Thursday morning, are drawn to policies that would put the United States at an advantage on the world stage.
At this moment, the European Union is closing in on implementing its own CBAM. The U.S. would benefit from being able to assert knowledge about the carbon intensity of its own products, rather than have the E.U. make its own determinations — especially when U.S. emissions pale in comparison to some of the world’s largest polluters and biggest trade partners.
“In the Republican Party, we’re living in this ‘America First’ populism explosion, really,” said Cramer, “so this helps that; this speaks to that.”
