Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
group of us that they had to be strict with no exemptions
because once they started with exemptions it would be
very dif
cult to stop. I wish our politicians were as
sensible;
Markey
Cap-and-Trade bill (see below). The program works well,
but the Province is small and the economy simple com-
pared with the United States.
Administration is much more complex in Cap and
Trade. It is easy to see what to do in electricity gener-
ation, but I can
they were not with the Waxman
-
it see how to do it in transportation. Does
each car owner get a gasoline ration card so that the
allocation can be reduced over time, or do you keep
vehicles out of the system and instead require changes at
the car manufacturing point (better CAFE standards, for
example)?
The United States was heading toward a version of Cap
and Trade with all its administrative complexity in
'
.
This was what was called the Waxman
Markey bill after
the congressmen who were its main drivers. Little atten-
tion seems to have been paid to European experience.
Too many of the emission permits were given away and
transportation was to be included. The Bill passed the
House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate.
Though a strong believer in the need for action, I was
relieved. Too much had to be given away to get the
necessary votes for it to have been effective.
There is a second issue which is important
-
allowing
emission reductions to be made in some other country
where it may be less costly to do the job. After all, there is
only one atmosphere, so in principle it does not matter
where the reduction in emissions is made; only that it is
made. These are called offsets in the Kyoto Protocol and
-
