Key elements of President Clinton's Climate Change Proposal include:

Realistic and Binding Targets to Reduce Greenhouse Emissions. A critical component of the President's comprehensive framework is a realistic, achievable, and binding target of reducing greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2008-2012 and reductions below 1990 levels in the 5-year period that follows.

$5 Billion Program of Tax Cuts and Research and Development for New Technologies. To spur energy efficiency and the development of new technologies, the President proposes a major new packet of tax cuts and R&D spending amounting to $5 billion over five years.

Industry-by-Industry Consultation and Early Credit. The Administration challenges key industries to prepare plans over the next nine months on how they can best reduce emissions. To provide incentives for near-term actions to cut emissions, the President is committed to ensuring appropriate rewards for firms that act early.

Developing Countries Must Participate. Climate change is a global problem, and requires a global solution. That's why the United States has spear-headed joint implementation projects, and the President has committed that the United States will not adopt binding obligations without the participation of developing countries.

Broad-Based Domestic and International Emissions Trading System Begins After A Decade of Experience Has Accumulated. The President is committed to a market-based emissions trading system, both domestically and internationally, that will harness the power of the market to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The trading system would begin after a decade's worth of experience with tax incentives, R&D, early credit, electricity restructuring, Federal efforts, and other measures.