A CAP-ital Idea: Business Opportunities for Covered Sources in a US Cap-and-Trade System
This post was written by Jennifer Smokelin.
Is cap-and-trade likely in the new administration? President Obama's comprehensive New Energy for America plan supports implementation of an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. Details of the to-be-proposed cap-and-trade program are still fuzzy – but where do we look for clues as to the design of the system, which may be passed as early as 2010?
The answer is look to what has previously been the most successful piece of proposed legislation to garner support in Congress to date. The only greenhouse gas cap-and-trade bill that has ever been voted out of a congressional committee is the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2007, proposed by Sens. Joe Lieberman, (I-Conn.), and John Warner, (R-Va.). The Senate bill failed to muster the required 60 votes to close off debate in June 2008 and was withdrawn, but it is sure to return in 2009 after a new administration and Congress take office. Thus, it is important to analyze the business opportunities proposed in this bill, as some are likely to be included in whatever national legislation inevitably is passed.
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