Last Friday, the House passed the Waxman-Markey Clean Energy Bill, in an effort to reduce the U.S. addiction to oil and adopt more clean energy practices. The bill is in the Senate, and if it passes, it could have a wide-ranging impact on certain exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The goal of the bill is to reduce carbon emissions while practicing clean energy techniques rather than rely on oil for most of our energy needs. According to Rober Kropp for Social Funds, Republican Senators are attacking the bill as a form of taxation that will pass intolerable costs to American taxpayers.

Key provisions of the bill include:

• Requiring electric utilities to meet 20% of their electricity demand through renewable energy sources and energy efficiency by 2020.
• Investing $190 billion in new clean energy technologies and energy efficiency.
• Mandating new energy-saving standards for buildings, appliances and industry.
• Introducing a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions by 17% by 2020 and more than 80% by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.
• All of this must occur without passing the expense onto consumers.

The passage of this bill will open the door for a clean energy-focused economy while keeping our dependence on foreign oil to a minimum. The ETFs below are just an example, but there are a number of other funds that target specific alternative energy sectors, such as wind and solar power.

• First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge ETF (QCLN)

• PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio (PZD)

• Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy ETF (GEX)
  

For more stories on green energy, visit our green ETFs category.

Tags: GEX, Green ETFs, PZD, QCLN, Sector ETFs, Socially Responsible ETFs, Utilities