cap-and-trade
Senator Rubio Goes to Moscow
In Internet time, it’s already an old story, but worth repeating. Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Tea Party guy, was asked in a GQ interview how old he believes the earth is. His reply: I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia electricity consumers may receive cap-and-trade dividend
As I mentioned on Monday, the 23.1 million greenhouse gas (GHG) allowances (current-vintage) sold at the cap-and-trade auction on Monday were all consigned to auction by utility companies. The $233 million generated by that sale must now be used by those utilities to the benefit of ratepayers. Last Friday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued its …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia 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 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 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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CONTINUE READINGNew Developments for Cap-and-Trade in California
There’s big news for California’s cap-and-trade program to control the state’s greenhouse gas emissions on two fronts this week. Cara alluded to the first in her post this week about California Democrats gaining a supermajority in both houses of the legislature after Tuesday’s election. The legislative development is important because the state legislature can probably …
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CONTINUE READINGThe trouble with resource shuffling
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Jon Wellinghoff recently voiced concern that California’s cap-and-trade program could lead to unforeseen consequences that would upset energy markets. He was speaking about resource shuffling, and echoing a letter his fellow Commissioner sent to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in August. What is resource shuffling? According to CARB, …
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