Gettin' down with cap 'n trade Next month, California will hold
the first auction as part of its carbon cap and trade program.
The program, which will be the second largest CO2 emissions
trading system in the world, has been in the works since 2006,
when the Golden State passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, a
piece of legislation that mandated chiseling down greenhouse gas
emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. A cap and trade system puts a
limit on the total amount of carbon dioxide polluters can emit –
that’s the cap. For its initial cap, the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) set a CO2 limit of 162 million tons. That
goes into effect next year, when the program kicks off. At
first, only electrical utilities and large industrial plants
will be capped. In 2015, companies that distribute fuels --
gasoline, diesel, natural gas and the like -- will be added.
(The cap will rise when they enter the program.) The cap amount
is divvied up into a number of “allowances” or “credits” -- each
allowance entitles the o