Carbon Pricing in California

Our state level work has focused on getting a price on carbon that reflects the actual cost to our economy and environment of fossil fuel.  Since 2007 the Campaign has been educating policy makers, stakeholders and the public with the aim of having Cap and Dividend be the top market-based solution for AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act.

Our efforts were rewarded last year when the State EPA appointed a panel of experts to study the best strategy to allocate the revenue. This panel, called the Economic and Allocation Advisory Committee (EAAC), released a report in that recommended that the largest share – roughly 75% of allowance value – should be returned to California households.  According to EAAC figures, this dividend translates to $388 in 2012 for a family of four, rising to $1,036 by 2020, adding a total of $7,004 to family incomes over the 8 year period.   If we can succeed in having lawmakers incorporate this recommendation in the final legislation it will be a huge victory for California’s economy and the environment!

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) approved the draft rulemaking for Cap & Trade on December 16, 2010 and the law is supposed to be implemented in 2012.   The Regulation to Implement the California Cap and Trade Program included a mention of dividends, but ARB chose not to decide on how revenue generated by the law will be used, leaving that for the state legislature to decide.

To read ARB’s scoping plan and the rulemaking which contains the main strategies California will use to reduce the greenhouse gases go to:

http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/scopingplan/scopingplan.htm

Click here for more on Cap & Dividend

Find out more at Mike Sandler’s page, Carbon Share and read his blog on huffingtonpost .

 

 

Act Now

Write your state legislators; tell them that climate protection and dividends are a top priority!