cap-and-trade
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Reducing emissions isn’t an economy killer
I am a little boggled by this comment in the New Yorker, by David Owen. It’s written from the perspective of someone who seems to be bothered by the threat of climate change, but who repeatedly makes the exact argument embraced by power and oil companies everywhere — slow climate change if you will, but […]
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At prime time presser, Obama says an energy plan will pass
During his prime time press conference Tuesday evening, President Obama was put on the spot about Congress’ apparent unwillingness to go along with some of his budget proposals. The questioner listed a number of areas where Democrats on Capitol Hill may part ways, including the White House’s proposed cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. […]
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Bachmann advocates revolution to save country from pricing externalities
“I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us ‘having a revolution every now and then is a good thing,’ and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not […]
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Healthcare yes, cap-and-trade no?
George Stephanopoulos says Dems can't possibly pass both healthcare reform and cap-and-trade, and they've effectively chosen healthcare. As much as he bugs me, I fear he's pretty much right about this.
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How would rebating carbon revenue to taxpayers give anyone incentive to reduce emissions?
There are lots of people who want to return money raised by a carbon program back to taxpayers via rebates. (A “revenue neutral carbon tax” is one way to do this; “cap and dividend” is another; Obama’s proposal is to auction pollution permits and return roughly 80 percent of the revenue via payroll tax rebates.) […]
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Washington legislature gives green bills thumbs down
Looks like blue is the new green around here — blue as in sad, that is. In the last week or so, Washington state legislature failed to pass the Transit Oriented Communities bill, “mortally wounded” the cap-and-trade bill, and is seriously considering altering the voter-approved Initiative 937 that would require utilities to seek out more […]
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Why it makes sense to use carbon revenue to fund efficiency programs
I wrote earlier about some Congressional Budget Office testimony before Congress on the “distributional effects of cap-and-trade.” There are a few more things in there I want to discuss. The CBO looked at three options for what to do with carbon revenue: rebate it to taxpayers, use it to lower corporate income taxes, or give […]
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The choice of what to do with carbon revenue is a clear-cut issue of justice
The debate around various climate policies sounds complex, but there’s a simple way to understand it: follow the money. When we put a price on carbon emissions, we place value on something that used to be worthless. That means all the sudden there’s a big new pot of money. The most important question facing policymakers […]
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50 green and civic groups roll out tough climate principles
Fifty environmental and public-interest groups threw their weight behind a set of tough principles for climate legislation on Thursday. The principles are broad, but they set the stage for tension among the country’s major green groups on climate policy. Endorsers of the National Call to Action on Global Warming [PDF] include a wide range of […]