cap-and-trade

China and Carbon Markets

In a surprising development, China may be  planning to create an internal carbon market a/k/a cap & trade.  According to Climate Wire, When professor Chen Hongbo tried to promote carbon trading in China three years ago, he found himself under fire. As developing countries like China aren’t obliged to limit the byproduct of their economic …

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Google Earth Engine and Forest Offsets in California Cap-and-Trade

Last week, Google Labs released Google Earth Engine, an online platform for viewing and analyzing satellite imagery and data.  The platform’s strengths are ease of use for viewing images, collaboration tools, and use of Google’s computing infrastructure to analyze the satellite data.  Google intends to use the platform to, among other things, help developing countries …

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California Cap-and-Trade Math

In late October, California Air Resources Board (CARB) released their draft regulations for cap-and-trade under AB 32.  I looked at CARB’s proposed allocations: the cap, the offset percentage, the reserve percentage and the projected emissions level.  Running the numbers allows a few general observations: If covered emitters take full advantage of the 8% allowed offsets, …

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That Warm Fuzzy Cap-And-Trade Feeling

Cara asks if cap-and-trade skeptics like me still get excited at California’s Mini-Me version. The short answer (for me, at least) is yes. I’m all in favor of California rolling out its own version, and my hope has always been that the California Air Resources Board could develop a successful program that EPA could eventually …

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California full-steam-ahead on cap and trade

Whether or not Californians focused on climate change in voting on Proposition 23 (as Ann and Sean discuss), their rejection of 23 means full steam ahead on climate change regulation.  Notably, while the rest of the country leaps back from cap and trade (here’s Obama throwing it under the bus in his post-election comments), California …

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Election review: what message did voters send about the environment, and how will politicians react?

It’s natural, in reflecting on the recent election, to ask whether and to what extent the results reflect public values about protection of the environment.  (Well, at least for me, since I spend my time thinking about these things.)  My answer: not much.  But the election’s impacts on environmental issues will still be significant. While …

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Politics versus Science in the 2010 Election Cycle

Here’s some fairly depressing news from Wonk Room: Remarkably, of the dozens of Republicans vying for the 37 Senate seats in the 2010 election, only one — Rep. Mike Castle of Delaware — supports climate action. Even former climate advocates Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) now toe the science-doubting party line. …

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Californians still support action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to new report

California, for better or worse, is still a bellwether state on many public policy issues.  Public opinion here matters, not just as a predictor of our state’s future political direction, but also nationally.  And California’s residents’ opinions about environmental issues are particularly important, given our state’s leadership on environmental issues.  Right now, there is a …

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Utilities-Only Carbon Cap

The proposed utilities-only cap-and-trade system could be a step in the right direction, although it’s far from ideal.

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Environmental Property Rights (Part III)

An environmental property right (EPR) can be defined as an enforceable interest deriving from an environmental asset such as air quality or an undisturbed forest.  EPRs are diverse and varied. Most EPRs are derived from statute rather than the common law, and many are of recent vintage.  Some EPRs are marketable; others are not. Fundamentally, …

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