Week 2 Item 2

McCain's Plan....Cap and Trade it!

By, Stacy Jelke

What is John McCain’s big plan for helping slow global warming? Much like his opposing candidate Barack Obama, he supports a “cap and trade system”. In this system:
A cap is a set, enforced limit on the amount of greenhouse gasses an economy can emit each year. Over time the cap gets tighter and the limit decreases until a target amount is hit and a cleaner economy is launched. Energy efficiency standards for vehicles will be instilled; smart-growth plans, building codes, transit investments, tax credits
for renewable energy, investment in energy research and development, utility
regulatory reforms—all manner of public actions can move us toward our climate
goals. But the cap is our only guarantee that we will get there.
The trade means that, by law, companies can exchange the permission to emit greenhouse gases.
The whole point in putting a price on polluting is to motivate people to find ways to reduce their carbon emissions. Many people believe this plan will raise energy prices even higher. This is false. Fossil fuel prices are already at an all time high just because of basic supply and demand. A cap and trade will probably just maintain the high prices not raise them further. A well designed trading system will encourage efficiency, innovation and low cost solutions. In the long term, cap and trade will reduce the demand for dirty energy and make new and upcoming cleaner technologies more affordable and more available.
Most importantly, a well-designed cap-and-trade climate policy will allow us to “take
charge of our energy future, rescuing ourselves from our fossil-fuel dependence.”

So why would McCain support a ‘cap and trade program’?
n brief: Why cap and trade?
1.) It’s been tested and proven. A cap-and-trade system worked cheaply and efficiently to
reduce acid rain pollution in the United States in the 1990s.
2.) It’s cost-effective. A cap provides market incentives to steadily reduce pollution in
a cost-effective and efficient manner, encouraging a healthy shift away from the insecurity of fossil fuels.
3.) It’s economically sound. Today, we produce the highest amounts of pollution ever had. A cap and trade allows our businesses and families to get used to using less CO2 slowly, at a gradual
pace that is safe and manageable. We can adjust through fuel efficiency and
increased renewable energy resources like solar and wind power.
4.) It’s a cautious, long-term investment. The key to our long-term fortune and a stable
economy is a shift away from oil. This shift can work for businesses and consumers, allowing us to take charge of rising energy costs, invest in new technologies, and ensure a smooth transition. Right now, we’re sending billions of dollars a year out of local economies to pay for dirty energy.
5.) Most importantly, the cap is a solid boundary to the path to success. No policy
measure can substitute for setting a solid cap on the greenhouse gas emissions that
are allowed into the atmosphere; it’s our firm guarantee that we will meet crucial
pollution targets.

http://www.sightline.org/research/energy/res_pubs/cap-and-trade-101/Cap-Trade_online.pdf