Earth Equity News

First U.S. Greenhouse Gas Auction to Be Held Thursday. By Mary Esch, AP, September 21, 2008. "A coalition of 10 northeastern states this week will... [conduct] the nation's first [cap-and-trade] carbon auction... Environmental groups, energy producers, and government leaders will be watching closely as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative sells carbon credits Thursday in the first of a series of quarterly online auctions. The [regional]... program, which aims to hold carbon dioxide emissions steady through 2014 and then gradually reduce them, is widely viewed as a model for future programs around the globe... RGGI caps the total amount of carbon that power plants in the 10-state region can pump out of their smokestacks at the current level -- 188 million tons... The three-hour auction will be conducted online among previously approved bidders...The minimum clearing price is set at $1.86 per ton for the first auction. The big question is what the clearing price will end up being. In Europe, carbon trading has hit electric ratepayers hard, with carbon allowances selling for as high as $48 a ton at auction. RGGI has put plans in place to prevent the price from rising above $10 a ton. Proceeds... are to be invested in programs to increase energy efficiency, support non-carbon-generating renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and develop carbon abatement technologies." [Editor's note: Although CCC prefers the tax shift (carbon tax) model to the cap-and-trade model that RGGI is based on, we are supportive of this regional effort.]