“But while the cost of action will be great, I can assure you that the cost of inaction will be far greater, for it could result in an economy that sputters along for not months or years, but perhaps a decade. That would be worse for our deficit, worse for business, worse for you, and worse for the next generation. And I refuse to let that happen.“
On February 24, 2008, President Obama received standing ovations when he asked for a market based cap on carbon emission during an address to a joint session of Congress. This groundbreaking statement provides hope that the current administration will not delay in instituting a cap and trade system to provide economically efficient measures to combat global warming.
Although official statements asking for carbon legislation are groundbreaking, cap and trade system is not a new concept to America. In fact, we invented the system. The US National Pollution Control Administration in the late 1960s began modeling the effects of such a system, and it was finally instituted as part of the Acid Rain Program by the EPA for sulfur dioxide emissions in 1990. The goal was to cut the output of SO2 to about 47% of 1980 levels by 2000. The results of the program are widely regarded as immensely successful and is seen as a model for cap and trade legislation.
Thank you, President Obama, for quickly addressing an important subject that, if executed properly, will make us a global leader in combating climate change as well as encouraging new markets and environmental efficiency. As the adage goes, the devil is in the details, but we already have the proven capacity to create a successful cap and trade market and the experience of the setbacks of the European cap and trade execution to build the most successful and active carbon market in the world.
(from nytimes.com)
“But to truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution and drives the production of more renewable energy in America.”
