Region: California
California raises almost $300 million in its first cap-and-trade auction
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) released the results from its first auction of greenhouse gas (GHG) allowances today. It sold all of the approximately 23 million current allowances (2013 vintage) at $10.09. It sold 14% of the approximately 39.5 million advance allowances (2015 vintage) at $10.00. As I discussed last week, the unsold advance …
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CONTINUE READINGCap-and-Trade: Why Auctions are Better than Give-Aways
Earlier this week California began auctioning off greenhouse gas emissions allowances, and the sky has not fallen. But is an auction really the best way to distribute the allowances? The California Chamber of Commerce says no. Its lawsuit—discussed in recent posts by Ann, Rhead, and Sean—doesn’t challenge the State’s authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions, …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat happens if not all allowances are sold at the first cap-and-trade auction?
California held its first cap-and-trade auction for greenhouse gas (GHG) allowances yesterday. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will announce the results from that auction on Monday, Nov. 19. What happens if not all the allowances are purchased at the auction? The short answer is that unsold allowances will be withheld from the market and …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy California’s cap-and-trade auction is not a tax
Yesterday, Ann and Cara gave their initial reactions to the California Chamber of Commerce lawsuit against California’s cap-and-trade auction. The main thrust of that lawsuit is that the auction (that happens today) is an unconstitutional tax because, according to the lawsuit, AB 32 gave the California Air Resources Board (CARB) no authority to withhold and …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy Was the Lawsuit Challenging California’s Cap-and-Trade Auction Filed Just One Day Before the Auction?
As Ann posted earlier today, the California Chamber of Commerce has filed a petition for writ of mandate in a California superior court, alleging that the auction of allowances to emit carbon dioxide scheduled for tomorrow constitutes an illegal tax and is not authorized by the California law AB 32. AB 32 requires the state …
CONTINUE READINGBreaking News: California Chamber of Commerce Sues over AB 32 Auction
The California Chamber of Commerce has launched the first industry lawsuit against the auction portion of California’s cap-and-trade program on the basis that auctioning off allowances constitutes an unauthorized, unconstitutional tax. The complaint was filed today in Sacramento Superior Court and seeks to stop the auction and have the auction regulations declared invalid. The Chamber argues …
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CONTINUE READINGTime for a California Oil Severance Tax
California’s new Democratic supermajority will be sorely tempted to raise taxes and fees across the board, which I have earlier suggested is a bad idea politically. But that hardly means that it should reject new revenues altogether, and the easiest place to start would be an oil severance tax. The oil severance tax works exactly …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Do You Do With a Supermajority? Be Very Careful!
As Cara observes, California Democrats seem to have achieved the unachievable in Sacramento — a 2/3 majority, allowing them to raise taxes without permission of the GOP. It’s not quite there, because a couple of state Senators were elected to Congress, and as soon as they take their seats, special elections will need to be …
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CONTINUE READINGMaking Climate Policy While Congress Sleeps
In our system of government, Congress is the institution with the greatest power to address issues of national importance. Unfortunately, Congress has been AWOL on the issue of climate change. The election has made it marginally more likely that Congress might wake up and take action on climate change, possibly even including a carbon tax …
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CONTINUE READINGOne Additional Legal Challenge To AB 32: Prop 26
One addendum to my post on new developments and cap-and-trade. I should have mentioned that Proposition 26 — which tightened the 2/3s vote requirement for taxes to include fees — may be the basis for another legal challenge to the cap-and-trade program. California voters approved Prop 26 in 2010. Unless Prop 26 is found to …
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