America's First Global Warming Cap and Trade Program Is Working, and Here's Why
Ten states have already instituted cap and trade—successfully
Martin O'Malley is governor of the state of Maryland.
As the debate over energy independence, climate change, and "green jobs" heats up this summer, Congress and the American public should take note one of the most significant accomplishments related to climate change to date and some of the lessons we've learned. In September 2008, 10 northeastern states, including Maryland, launched the United States's first greenhouse gas "cap and trade system"—and it is working.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative requires carbon-producing power plants to purchase one allowance for each ton of carbon they emit. Each state auctions a share of allowances quarterly. The goal is reduced carbon emissions. How is carbon reduced? In two ways: First, the number of allowances decreases over time, so by 2018 we collectively reduce carbon from these power plants—a major source of greenhouse gases—by 10 percent. Second, proceeds from the sale of these allowances are plowed back into consumer benefits: energy efficiency programs, renewable energy, technology development, rate relief, and other programs that benefit energy consumers and create "green jobs."
The result? Energy conservation and development of alternative energy is being funded at historically high levels—a commitment by this country that is long overdue. These include projects to weatherize low-income homes, hire and train energy auditors, deploy combined heat and power and district heating and cooling systems, subsidize energy efficiency improvement programs for small businesses, and educate contractors about energy efficiency and other initiatives.
Green jobs are clearly a key part of our future: The Pew Charitable Trust reported in June that the number of jobs in America's emerging clean energy economy grew nearly two and a half times faster than overall jobs between 1998 and 2007. In Maryland, we have set a goal of creating at least 100,000 green jobs by 2015.
The No. 1 goal of this voluntary effort between Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont has always been to show that a market based cap and trade system can work. How do we know its working? Utilities that need allowances have robustly bid in the four auctions of allowances to date. A healthy secondary market for allowances has emerged. This all points to the markets' recognition that this is a viable program with a foregone conclusion—America must reduce its carbon emissions. To date, $366.5 million in RGGI proceeds—earned in less than one year—have been generated for clean energy, energy conservation, and rate relief.
There are some key differences between this program and what's being proposed in Washington. The regional initiative regulates electricity generated by fossil fuels, where federal legislation covers other sectors as well. And the regional program is entirely a market-based system, with auctions of over 90 percent of allowances; proposed federal legislation will auction 15 percent of allowances. While we work on these important features of federal climate and energy policy, let's keep what is most important at the fore.
As the U.S. Senate looks to build on work already done in the House of Representatives to secure national energy independence, create a sustainable energy future, reduce the threat of climate change, and create net benefits for electricity consumers, let's look hard at what's already working. The states in the Northeast have proven it can be done. In these times of great challenges, we have to be willing to embrace the new economy—and to act now for that more sustainable future all of us prefer.
Let's also learn from our experience. Cap and trade is a proven, efficient, market-based approach to solving one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time.
- Check out our political cartoons.
- Become a political insider: Subscribe to U.S. News Weekly, our new digital magazine.
- Is a global treaty the right way to handle climate change?
Reader Comments
Global Warming Education
Educational reaources are valuable for promoting the science curriculum at school or home. The U.S. News Reports related to global warming activities are beneficial too. It is important to know that new and old homes can be built or improved with solar panels as an alternative heating source. Electric and gas heating appliances have been used in the past and present. Energy consumption can be assesed as well as related monetary savings with a gas furnace, electricity, and solar panels utilized as primary home heating resources.
Politician Brags: The Shakedown is Working
That's because the simpletons who voted for him don't realize that when he shakes down industry, 100 percent of the additional cost must be passed on to the ratepayers, which includes all of them. They also need to be gullible enough to continue believing the politicians man-made global warming hoax. This is all about politicians seizing control of industry by any rationalization they think they can sell to voters. It's sad to see USN&WR letting politician use this site for propaganda purposes.
Attn: Censor, is this what you don't want people to see?
We are being forced to pay for ‘alternative’ sources of energy that never pay for themselves with the energy they produce. This is why wind and solar energy, don’t even supply one percent of mankind’s needs. Producing Ethanol from corn actually consumes more energy than the amount of energy you get from the Ethanol. This creates a net loss of energy, while driving up the price of corn. Whether or not that ‘works’ depends on whether you are trying in good faith to produce an abundant sustainable supply of energy, or you are just trying to control a greater share of the economy for your own political purposes. Since it has already been proven that CO2 doesn’t cause climate change, efforts to control it are only efforts to control the economic activities that produce CO2. This is nothing more than greed disguised as concern for the environment. So our access to hydrocarbon energy and nuclear energy is being throttled for no good reason.
Regarding concerns about sea level rise:
"The reason why Dr Mörner, formerly a Stockholm professor, is so certain that these claims about sea level rise are 100 per cent wrong is that they are all based on computer model predictions, whereas his findings are based on "going into the field to observe what is actually happening in the real world".
When running the International Commission on Sea Level Change, he launched a special project on the Maldives, whose leaders have for 20 years been calling for vast sums of international aid to stave off disaster. Six times he and his expert team visited the islands, to confirm that the sea has not risen for half a century. Before announcing his findings, he offered to show the inhabitants a film explaining why they had nothing to worry about. The government refused to let it be shown."
http://climaterealists.com/index.php?id=3116
Journalists are very slow to realize that their readers now have far more choices than they had 10 years ago. If you want to keep your readers, you had better be honest with them.
advertisement
