Legislative In addressing comprehensive climate change legislation that would place a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and allow for trading of emission allowances, the position of ACCCE has primarily involved advocating for the development and use of clean coal technologies, while also including provisions concerning the allocating of carbon emission allowances. ACCCE has as also expressed support for a ceiling on emission allowances prices. At the time in 2008 when the
U.S. Senate was considering the
Lieberman-Warner bill (bill number ) – which would create a
cap and trade system – ACCCE changed its prior stance towards climate-change legislation, noting that it "would support mandatory limits on carbon dioxide as long as legislation met a set of principles that encouraged 'robust utilization of coal.'" The group also employed legislative efforts surrounding the 2009 debate over the
Waxman-Markey cap and trade legislation (bill number ), to which it argued that regulations relating to carbon emissions in the proposed legislation would have led to increased energy costs and reduction in employment – potentially placing additional strain on the economy during the
late 2000s recession. ACCCE provided proposals to Members of Congress for changes in this legislation, and approved of some changes that were adopted; though the group did not support the final version of the bill that passed the
U.S. House of Representatives on account of concerns that there were not enough measures taken to control energy rates.) involved in "visiting town hall meetings, fairs and other functions attended by members of Congress (to) ask questions about energy policy." Initiatives of this form became the subject of news coverage surrounding the
2008 United States presidential election, as the organization's presence at the
Democratic National Convention,
Republican National Convention, presidential debates and other events has been described as having impacted both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama's positions in regards to investment in clean coal. Duncan asserted that regulations propounded by the
Environmental Protection Agency had contributed to nearly 290 coal plant closures that year, with more likely to come if additional regulations were enacted, and that absent the additional burdens imposed on the industry by such interference, the coal industry would continue developing cleaner technologies. first announced by President
George W. Bush in 2003. The project was funded in the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but the Department of Energy suspended the project in February, 2015. ACCCE's legislative positions and advocacy-based actions have been met with opposing viewpoints from advocacy groups such as the
Sierra Club and
Greenpeace, which have questioned the viability of developing environmentally sustainable clean coal within an adequate time frame and budget – representing their perspective that funding of such projects should be sourced exclusively from within the coal industry. == Climate change denial ==