cap-and-trade
So Much for THAT Excuse: China Starts a Cap-and-Trade Program
If there is a somewhat credible reason for the United States not to embark on climate legislation, it is that other major emitters — particularly China — are not doing the same. I don’t buy it, because China is a much poorer country than the United States is and because the West has received the …
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CONTINUE READINGFive Ideas for Regulatory Reformers
Duke is hosting a conference on Monday (10-4 ET) about conservative approaches to environmental protection. (livestream here). Here are a few ideas to throw into the mix:
CONTINUE READINGCalifornians and the Environment: PPIC’s New Survey Results
The Public Policy Institute of California this week released the results of its 12th annual “Californians and the Environment” survey. PPIC, a non-partisan think tank, always seems to be generating thought-provoking and cutting-edge scholarship focusing on the nation-state of California. Its latest environmental survey, based on recent polling of 2500 Californians, continues that tradition. The …
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CONTINUE READINGRomney’s Views About Climate Policy: A Detailed Timeline
Updated Sept. 4, 2012. There has been considerable discussion of Governor Romney’s views about the causes of climate change and about policies such as cap and trade. It’s not easy, however, to find detailed documentation. For that reason, I’ve assembled as much information as I could find about what Romney has said and done over …
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CONTINUE READINGAssessing California’s cap-and-trade design
How vulnerable will California’s cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gas emissions be to market manipulation, noncompliance, and fraud? Will the program’s public auctions of allowances serve a critical regulatory purpose, or are they just a big money grab? With about four months to go before the highly anticipated first auction, these questions are important and getting …
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CONTINUE READINGPutting a Cap on the Green Paradox
The Green Paradox holds that emission control measures scheduled for the future can backfire. Foreseeing a smaller market in the future, fossil fuel sellers decide to unload more of their reserves now by cutting prices. A recent report from Resources for the Future provides more details if you’re interested (though the details don’t matter for …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia Court of Appeal Upholds AB 32 Scoping Plan for Greenhouse Gas Reduction
Today, the California Court of Appeal rejected an appeal by environmental justice advocates seeking to scuttle the California Air Resources Board’s AB 32 Scoping Plan. EJ advocates objected to the Scoping Plan’s adoption of a cap-and-trade program to achieve some of the greenhouse gas reductions required under the landmark California law AB 32. Their primary …
CONTINUE READINGEJ Advocates Renew Efforts to Block Cap and Trade
There are weighty arguments against the EJ position. Even if EJ advocates remain unpersuaded, they should recognize that it is possible to disagree with their views in good faith.
CONTINUE READINGCarbon Auctions & Prop 13
California is planning to auction some of the carbon allowances in its new cap-and-trade system. There’s an interesting question about whether the auctions should be considered a “tax” under state law, which may turn in part on what the money is used for. If the auctions are considered a tax, they would run into trouble …
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CONTINUE READINGCarbon as Commodity and Currency
As a number of writers have suggested, it’s intriguing to think about the ways in which carbon functions like money to an increasing extent as a medium of exchange, and a measure and storehouse of value. Thus, alongside (and intertwined with) the existing money-based economy, we can envision the emergence of a carbon-based system of …
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