Major provisions of House climate and energy bill

Highlights of climate bill approved passed by the House:

- Reducing greenhouse gases by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a cap-and-trade program that allows pollution permits to be bought and sold.

- Limiting emissions from major industrial sources, including power plants, factories, refineries and electricity and natural gas distributors. Emissions from agriculture would be excluded from the cap.

- Controlling carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and limiting six other greenhouse gases.

- Allowing companies to meet emission-limiting targets by investing in offset projects such as tree planting and forest protection.

- Requiring electric utilities to produce at least 12 percent of their power from renewable sources such wind and solar energy by 2020, and requiring as much as 8 percent in energy efficiency savings.

- Imposing tighter performance standards on new coal-fired power plants and providing $1 billion a year in development money for capturing carbon dioxide from such plants.

- Establishing standards that will require new buildings to be 30 percent more energy-efficient by 2012 and 50 percent more efficient by 2016.

- Protecting consumers from rising energy costs by giving rebates and credits to low-income households.