California Set to Implement Cap-and-Trade
Posted at 8:45 a.m. on Dec. 27, 2012
On January 1, 2013, California will implement a “cap-and-trade” program to limit carbon emissions from high-emitting facilities. The New York Times looks at what the law does and what that means for companies in the state.
“Regulators do not want California companies to lose their competitive edge, because that could make other state governments reluctant to adopt this approach… The state’s Air Resources Board is using an array of policies to reach its intended goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.”
“In the first allowance auction in November, the allowance price settled at $10.09 a ton… over the next five years, the number of free allowances will decrease sharply to encourage further emissions cuts… More allocations go to industries that are at risk of leaving the state and emitting their pollution elsewhere or of ceding market share to foreign companies that are likely to be big emitters.”
