Cap-and-Trade, California Style: Who Gets the Money?
Economists Recommend Paying People Before Polluters
By Stacy Morford
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As California writes the details of a statewide cap-and-trade plan for greenhouse gas emissions, it is considering a different approach for divvying up the proceeds, one that would put state residents — rather than polluters — first in line for payouts.
Billions of dollars will be at stake once the state’s carbon trading system gets going in 2012.
The California plan stems from a 2006 state law, AB32, that requires the state to cut its emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The California Air Resources Board identified a cap-and-trade program as a key strategy to reach that goal.