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'''"Cap and trade"''' is a quota system designed to regulate [[carbon emissions]] in order to slow global warming. It has been promoted by the [[Obama Administration]], and passed the House with liberal votes in 2009.
'''"Cap and trade"''' is a quota system designed to regulate [[greenhouse gases|carbon emissions]] in order to slow global warming. It has been promoted by the [[Obama Administration]], and passed the House with [[liberal]] votes in 2009.
[[Steven Milloy]] wrote:
[[Steven Milloy]] wrote:
:Through heavy-handed regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other industrial sources, cap-and-trade would kill the [[coal industry]] that provides about one half of our nation's electricity. This would send [[energy prices]] skyrocketing which, in turn, would send millions of American jobs overseas, cripple our economy and make us less [[energy-independent]]. [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/07/beware-greens-bearing-gifts/]
:Through heavy-handed regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other industrial sources, cap-and-trade would kill the [[Coal mining|coal industry]] that provides about one half of our nation's electricity. This would send energy prices skyrocketing which, in turn, would send millions of American jobs overseas, cripple our economy and make us less [[Energy Independence|energy-independent]]. [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/07/beware-greens-bearing-gifts/]
Estimates of the cost vary widely. A 15% cut in carbon emissions would cost the average American household about $1,600 a year, according to March 12, 2009, Congressional Budget Office testimony. Climate legislation passed by the House in June offsets most of the cost to consumers by returning some of the revenues to offset any significant spike in electricity costs.
Estimates of the cost vary widely. A 15% cut in carbon emissions would cost the average American household about $1,600 a year, according to March 12, 2009, Congressional Budget Office testimony. Climate legislation passed by the House in June offsets most of the cost to consumers by returning some of the revenues to offset any significant spike in electricity costs.
==Obama==
==Obama==
* "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket," Obama said in Jan. 2008. "Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." <ref>http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/11/mike-pence/pence-claims-obama-said-energy-costs-will-skyrocke/</ref> Obama emphasizes that some of the costs will be offset by new "green jobs." [[Van Jones]], Obama's Green Jobs czar was fired in September 2009, and the program lacks a spokesman.
* "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket," Obama said in Jan. 2008. "Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers." <ref>https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/jun/11/mike-pence/pence-claims-obama-said-energy-costs-will-skyrocke/</ref> Obama emphasizes that some of the costs will be offset by new "green jobs." [[Van Jones]], Obama's Green Jobs czar was fired in September 2009, and the program lacks a spokesman.
==How it works==
==How it works==
==Drawbacks==
==Drawbacks==
As with any increased cost of business, the costs of emission permits are passed on to the consumer or the shareholders. For this reason, critics of cap and trade maintain the system amounts to a tax increase on the middle class and the poor.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655590609066021.html ''Who Pays for Cap and Trade?''], Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2009.</ref>
As with any increased cost of business, the costs of emission permits are passed on to the consumer or the shareholders. For this reason, critics of cap and trade maintain the system amounts to a tax increase on the middle class and the poor.<ref>[http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123655590609066021.html ''Who Pays for Cap and Trade?''], Wall Street Journal, March 9, 2009.</ref>
[[Spain]] has a cap and trade program in place which led to 31% increases in the price of electricity and energy. Dr. Gabriel Calzada, a professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid told reporters, "It has cost billions." Obama claims that part of his strategy will result in good paying 'green-jobs' but Calzada said for every green-job, 2.2 jobs in Spain were lost.<ref>[https://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=47679 House Republicans Hold ‘Energy Summit’ to Blast Cap-and-Trade Legislation] CNSNews, May 06, 2009</ref>
[[Spain]] has a cap and trade program in place which led to 31% increases in the price of electricity and energy. Dr. Gabriel Calzada, a professor at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid told reporters, "It has cost billions." Obama claims that part of his strategy will result in good paying 'green-jobs' but Calzada said for every green-job, 2.2 jobs in Spain were lost.<ref>[https://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=47679 House Republicans Hold ‘Energy Summit’ to Blast Cap-and-Trade Legislation] CNSNews, May 06, 2009</ref>
==Enron==
:''Main article:'' [[Enron]]
Even after the U.S. withdrew from the [[Kyoto protocol]]s, 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 [[greenhouse gases|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>[https://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>[https://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.
==Necessity?==
==Necessity?==
The biggest controversy over "cap and trade" is its motivation. The policy exists as a response to belief in man-made [[global warming]]. By presuming that global warming is caused entirely or mostly by human activity, it would follow that environmental benefits might ensue from regulating human carbon emissions. This belief has been endorsed by [[Al Gore]], [[Barack Obama]] and [[John McCain]], but many have serious doubts.
The biggest controversy over "cap and trade" is its motivation. The policy exists as a response to belief in man-made [[global warming]]. By presuming that global warming is caused entirely or mostly by human activity, it would follow that environmental benefits might ensue from regulating human carbon emissions. This belief has been endorsed by [[Al Gore]], [[Barack Obama]] and [[John McCain]], but many have serious doubts.
==External links==
==External links==
*Video: [http://www.heritage.org/News/Cap-and-Trade-Global-Warming-Bill.cfm Cap and Trade] - ''Will It Save The Earth?''
*Video: [https://www.heritage.org/News/Cap-and-Trade-Global-Warming-Bill.cfm Cap and Trade] - ''Will It Save The Earth?''
* [http://www.nocapandtrade.com/the-facts/ No Cap And Trade] - The Facts
* [http://www.nocapandtrade.com/the-facts/ No Cap And Trade] - The Facts