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→Enron scandal
The Republican Senate rejected the Kyoto treaty by a 95-to-0 vote on August 15, 1997.<ref>http://talking_points.tripod.com/</ref>
The Republican Senate rejected the Kyoto treaty by a 95-to-0 vote on August 15, 1997.<ref>http://talking_points.tripod.com/</ref>
==Cap and trade==
:''Main article:'' [[Cap and trade]]
Even after the U.S. withdrew from the Kyoto protocols, Enron continued to push for a domestic regulatory scheme known as cap-and-trade, whereby the government would set a cap on the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions allowed in the U.S. It would distribute permits or allowances to companies affected by the cap giving them the right to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide. Those allowances could then be traded on a carbon emissions trading exchange.
Enron executives believed that a cap-and-trade program would put them in a position to dominate the U.S. energy market. Electric utilities, required to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, would be forced to switch from coal to natural gas as the only practical alternative to electricity production. As a leading trader of natural gas, Enron would be the recipient of a huge financial windfall.
While [[Barack Obama]] served as a board member for the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation, it gave nearly $1.1 million to start the Chicago Climate Exchange, calling itself "North America's only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases, with global affiliates and projects worldwide."<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/25/obama-years-ago-helped-fund-carbon-program-pushing-congress/ Obama Years Ago Helped Fund Carbon Program He Is Now Pushing Through Congress,] By Ed Barnes, March 25, 2009. FoxNews.com</ref> In 2010, the Chicago Climate Exchange collapsed.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/11/09/collapse-chicago-climate-exchange-means-strategy-shift-global-warming-curbs/ Collapse of Chicago Climate Exchange Means a Strategy Shift on Global Warming Curbs,] By Ed Barnes, November 09, 2010, FoxNews.com</ref> As many investors were wiped out, its founder sold out before hand for $90 million and [[Al Gore]], who was also associated by name with the company, pocketed $18 million.
==See also==
==See also==