An Inside Outline

So we now have an draft outline of a draft bill that has yet to be dropped. And drip-drip-drip goes the Senate's legislative process.

In a closed-door session Wednesday, Senators Graham, Kerry, and Lieberman (from left) shared their rough outline for a climate bill with industry leaders. "Industry" meaning the big guns who would be most affected by a cap on carbon emissions. Here's our coverage from this morning's edition of The Energy Report.

I think CAP's Joe Romm lays out the details pretty well (by way of CQ), given that The Details are very much subject to change. Nonetheless, this is a well-nuanced start of sorts:

• An economy-wide cap on carbon emissions that would begin in 2012, with a target of reducing carbon pollution 17 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

• Separate caps on carbon emissions by the electric utilities and manufacturing sectors, which would have to buy permits to pollute from the federal government.

• A combination for the regulated sectors of a “cap and trade” model, under which polluters could trade pollution permits on an open market, and a “cap and dividend” model, which would return revenue from the sale of permits directly to consumers.

• Sections or titles devoted to oil refining, farming, coal, clean energy innovation, and increasing production of nuclear energy and oil and natural gas drilling.

Virtually the first question that comes to mind is, How long will this version be relevant? John Kerry says the next step, a draft bill following reaction from the aforementioned Industry, could be out as soon as the end of next week.

Lindsey Graham's take? The Health Care morass could endanger Senate legislaiton for the rest of the year.