|
US Carbon Trading on the Way
Economists at New Carbon Finance predict that in less than two decades the US will have a huge
carbon emissions market, topping out at $1 trillion, more than twice the EU’s Emissions trading
scheme.
Currently, there are 13 climate change bills in
front of the US House and Senate, most of which propose market-based carbon solutions such as cap
and trade programs. Consumer energy prices would rise as a result of the carbon trading market, but
investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency would work to lower energy costs, New Carbon
Finance analysts predict.
New Carbon Finance reports that cap and trade systems for carbon
seems inevitable with the largest purchasers of greenhouse gas emission credits being coal burning
power plants and oil refiners.
All of the leading presidential candidates have endorsed
carbon emissions reductions. Federal climate change regulations would most likely also include
trade sanctions on imports from countries that do not have mandatory carbon emissions caps.
|