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Climate Change policy is like putting together a puzzle. There are many different pieces and all must come together and fit before the big picture is realized.

Two big important pieces of the puzzle came together today as the Senate introduced its climate bill called the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. The second piece of the puzzle regards the EPA as it revealed today, for the first time, that they will regulate carbon emissions from big industry. This is a huge day in energy policy as two separate forms of government have made their respective strides towards a clean energy future.

The Senate Climate Bill, an 800 page document, revolves around the cap and trade system where companies who emit CO2 buy or trade pollution permits in order to operate. The bill includes steep emission reduction targets such as 20% by 2020. The bill also includes more incentives for nuclear power and more affordable carbon offsets. The EPA’s legitimacy for regulating greenhouse gas emissions comes from the Clean Air Act. Under this legislation, the EPA intends to require operating permits for facilities that emit more than 25,000 tons of CO2 a year. This measure essentially targets big industries who are the main contributors of CO2 while giving small businesses a break.

Both of these new measures in climate change policy are great steps toward the goal of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately, will help to cool our warming planet. However, the puzzle is yet to be completed. The senate bill must be passed and then merged with the climate bill from the House of Representatives (see my post from June). After a final bill is created and passed by both houses, it will reach the desk of Barack Obama. The EPA measure will undergo litigation, but hopefully will stand and the regulation of carbon in big industries will be realized.

It is exciting to see that Climate Change policy has not been shoved aside from the distractions by the economy, the war in Afghanistan, and international turmoil. It has finally become a certainty in society and the American government that Climate Change is one of the most pressing and challenging issues facing the world today.

Read more from the New York Times and Treehugger