European Trading System

U.S. is freaking out over tiny E.U. carbon tax on air travel

Long ago, in a land far, far away, where it seemed possible that carbon cap-and-trade would be a thing that we all got on board with, the European Union decided it would make sense to include air travel in its carbon trading scheme, because flying on planes is one of the most carbon-intensive activities that humans engage in. But — psych! — turned out no one (*cough* Congress *cough*) really wanted to deal with carbon. The E.U., however, did not get that memo and still wants to charge American airlines for the carbon they emit on their way to Europe. Here's how that's playing out so far:

The U.S. airline industry: NO FAIR! We'll see you in court, suckers!

The European Union: Um, ok, well, they're our courts. 

Congress should not try to stop the Europeans from controlling aviation's carbon pollution

Why would a reauthorization bill for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have anything to say about the steps that Europe is taking to reduce carbon pollution from aviation?  The answer should be nothing.  But unfortunately the US Senate is considering language passed by the House of Representatives that would signal unhappiness with Europe’s efforts to […]

US Airlines Say they are “Green” while fighting Anti-Pollution Efforts

If an airline claims to be “green”, but is actively working to gut carbon pollution standards what would you do?  Since that is exactly what America, Continental, and United airlines are doing, major environmental groups sent a letter to the airlines asking them why they are spending their customers’ money on lawyers and lobbyists in […]

Koch-funded group mounts cut-and-paste attack on regional climate initiatives

Fresh off last year’s successful defeat of federal climate legislation in the U.S. Senate, the oil baron Koch brothers and their dirty-energy buddies are now bent on dismantling one of the nation’s last hopes for doing anything about climate change in the near term: regional climate accords. Today, a total of 32 states are active […]

Europe to easily beat Kyoto target

Europe made a major commitment under the Kyoto Protocol that U.S. conservatives have been telling us for years it would never achieve.  In fact, the Europeans are poised to surpass their targets under the terms of the Protocol. It is no longer plausible for those who don’t want a U.S. cap-and-trade system to point to […]

Did Waxman-Markey’s ancestors really deliver on their promises?

President Obama is betting that a cap-and-trade program can help solve the climate crisis. Southern California leaders hoped the same thing when they set up a cap-and-trade program to clean up the region’s air. The results? See above. Photo: jordansmall via Flickr Nearly 20 years ago, a novel program called “cap and trade” was rolled […]

Europe poised to meet Kyoto target: European Trading System a success?

Europe made a major commitment under the Kyoto protocol that U.S. conservatives have been telling us for years they would never achieve. It now seems clear Europeans will meet their commitment under the terms of the protocol. It will become increasingly difficult for those who don’t want a U.S. cap-and-trade system to point to the […]