Did 'cap and trade' go up in smoke?
A broad cap-and-trade plan to reduce carbon emissions has been pronounced dead by one of the senators pushing hardest for it.
But by "dead," Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina may have meant re-branded.
While cap-and-trade promoters -- who include Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman -- originally touted the system as a way to mitigate climate change, Sen. Graham is now reframing the effort as a business model for creating jobs, competing with China, and cleaning the air.
Called "cap and tax" by some opponents, the economic mechanism is meant to combat climate change by setting a price on carbon, with companies buying and selling permits to pollute. The number of permits would decrease over time, encouraging companies to decrease their carbon output. Incentives to implement or create better technologies for pollution and energy use might also result.
Today in Greenwire, Sen. Graham said:
"I have no problem with trading as long as you don't devastate the economy. This is what solved acid rain. Some people on my side say, 'Just create incentives.' I say that's opening up the Treasury to every group in the country. I want to set emission standards and let the best technology win."
Weeks may pass before we know how substantial any changes to the carbon trading system might be.
One possible reconstruction of the bill might differentiate between the utility and manufacturing sectors. Manufacturers may have a few years before the pricing standards are imposed, in order to allow more affordable energy sources to become available.
However it is labeled or recast, supporters of the legislation hope the new approach will engage senators on the issue and tip the scales toward the 60 votes needed to pass the bill.
Cap and trade is not alive yet, but it still seems to be kicking.
- Reuters: Senator Graham calls cap-and-trade plan dead
- Washington Post: Senators seen ditching cap and trade in new bill
Image: eflon/Flickr
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com