Energy 2.0 » cap and trade

Fast Times at Cap&Trade High

Dean Fogarasi — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 16:30:06 +0000

Governor Chris Christie

You may not know this, but “Cap and Trade” isn’t just a buzz-phrase for something many environmentalists would like to see the U.S. adopt for regulation of greenhouse gases–it’s been a reality for 10 northeastern states since 2009. With the announcement of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s plan to withdraw from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) this year, the hot-button issue of Cap and Trade has again come to the surface of environmental news sphere. Cap and Trade, the market-based mechanism that many call for to help steer our energy production from fossil fuels to renewables, has been employed under a cooperative agreement called RGGI (“reggie”). RGGI is a joint venture by the New England states along with New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, to… [view entry]

“The Story of Cap and Trade”

JesseGorden — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:42:29 +0000

One possible step toward Climate Change mitigation, cap and trade is a prominent topic of discussion among government officials and environmentally-concerned citizens alike. This very short film (by the creators of “Story of Stuff”) offers a comprehensive look into the cap & trade system, and carefully questions its legitimacy. This is an informative piece on a very comfortable level that will boost your understanding of what the true philosophies behind, benefits of, and concerns with cap and trade systems are. I recommend taking a couple of minutes to check it out, and then sharing with your friends.

Or watch here.

Regional carbon market developments

JPierce — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:57:37 +0000

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the first mandatory, market-based effort in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states haved capped and will reduce CO2 emissions from the [electric] power sector 10% by 2018.
States sell nearly all emission allowances through auctions and invest proceeds in consumer benefits: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy technologies. RGGI will spur innovation in the clean energy economy and create green jobs in each state.

Last week, a settlement was reached in a New York state lawsuit regarding the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Under the settlement, the most populous and third highest per capita carbon emitting state will remain in the accord. This is a positive development which helps ensure the size… [view entry]

No Meaningful Agreement in Copenhagan. No Surprise.

LGlick — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:24:05 +0000

Let’s see if we can grasp the so-called agreement reached in Copenhagan.

Many of the Developed Countries (the North) have promised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as they (comfortably) can in the future. These are not binding commitments; just promises to make a best effort. And, they are all over the place in terms of the cuts they represent compared to past and present CO₂ emission levels. A number of Developing Countries (the South, including China) have now promised to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Again, nothing binding and wildly inconsistent targets and timetables. And, even if you add up all the promises, you won’t come close to getting the world on track to stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions at a (350–450 ppm) level by 2050 sufficient to forestall the worst

… [view entry]

Cap and _____________?

Anthony Butler — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:11:14 +0000

From the New York Times Green Inc. blog an article on the options being debated for either totally replacing the current carbon cap and trade system or tweaking our current set-up. On one side of the argument, many are saying that giving carbon emission credits to big business amounts amounts to rewarding polluters. (Given the fact some companies have been selling off carbon credits they got for free, it’s not hard to see that point.)

Some environmental groups favor a ‘carbon tax’ which would be applied to all non-renewable carbon-based energy sources. The revenue generated from levying this tax would be used to fund renewable energy development and offset current tax burdens.

There is no doubt a carbon tax would have an immediate effect on… [view entry]

BusinessWeek Rains on Germany’s Green Energy Parade

Anthony Butler — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:38:42 +0000

Businessweek has discovered the dirty little secret behind he success of Germany’s renewable energy industry.

Germany’s renewable energy companies are a tremendous success story. Roughly 15 percent of the country’s electricity comes from solar, wind or biomass facilities, almost 250,000 jobs have been created and the net worth of the business is €35 billion per year.
But there’s a catch: The climate hasn’t in fact profited from these developments. As astonishing as it may sound, the new wind turbines and solar cells haven’t prohibited the emission of even a single gram of CO2.
Even more surprising, the European Union’s own climate change policies, touted as the most progressive in the world, are to blame. The EU-wide emissions trading system determines the total amount of CO2 that can be emitted

… [view entry]

Carbon Tax or Cap and Trade?

Anthony Butler — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:36:55 +0000

The NYT Green Inc Blog examines arguments for different strategies for reducing carbon—the carbon tax, cap-and-trade systems, and simple regulatory reform. Recent fluctuations in the price of carbon credits in the European markets call into question the ability of cap-and-trade systems to work efficiently during an economic downturn.

Do we really want to create another set of poorly understood financial instruments? A revenue-neutral carbon tax can create low-carbon incentives while revenue can be used to reduce payroll taxes. “Tax what we burn, not what we earn.” – James Handley

Other analysts argue that the decline in price is simply the result of the system working; companies meeting their carbon reduction goals simply don’t need to buy the credits, driving down their market price.

Whatever your ideological stance, most experts agree that the roll-out of… [view entry]