On June 26th 2009, the US House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), authored by Henry Waxman and Edward Markey. The bill is a comprehensive energy legislation that presents a cap and trade scheme regulating US Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, and a set of federal measures that aims at transforming the US traditional fossil fuel-based economy into a cleaner economy, based on renewable energy and low carbon alternatives.

This brief provides an overview of the bill mechanisms and its implications at the national and international levels. It highlights the key uncertainties surrounding its institutional adoption and operational implementation. It also emphasizes its main differences with the European approach on cap and trade, the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), as well as examines its international implications on carbon markets and negotiations.

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