 |
|||||
|
|||||
Schwarzenegger Wants Cap-and-Trade Rules Relaxed In March, Gov. Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board asking that the majority of pollution allowances be given away during the early years of the cap-and-trade program the agency is setting up.
The letter urged that the program be implemented in a manner that doesn’t impose “unnecessary short-term costs” on business and industry.
ARB has pointed to new economic analysis indicating that greenhouse reduction measures imposed by the state will not harm the economy. But the agency has been criticized for the cap-and-trade rules it has proposed, which limit the number of carbon offsets that can be used to achieve emissions cuts. Schwarzenegger said in his letter that carbon credits would play a “critical role” in successfully implementing a cap-and-trade program.
Also unpopular is the notion of a state-run auction of all emission allowances that would see the proceeds put into the state’s general fund to reduce taxes.
California’s budget deficit is around $20 billion and unemployment is over 13 percent—a state of affairs that has given extra support to those who would like to see certain parts of its ambitious climate plan made more industry-friendly.
A voter initiative backed by Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. would lay out rules that would freeze any cap-and-trade plan until the state’s unemployment rate falls below 5.5 percent. Cathy Reheis-Boyd, vice president of the Western States Petroleum Association, recently told Dow Jones that it was important for the ARB to be “open and transparent” about the cost of a cap-and-trade program, adding that if they were, “the business community will be much more engaged in the conversation.” |
|||||
|
|||||
To sponsor Western Energy News, please contact WEI at 503 231-1994.
|
|||||
Copyright © 2010. Reuse of this publication or its contents is allowed with credit to Western Energy Institute. |
|||||