Why Putting a Price on Carbon is Fast Becoming an Economic Necessity. Posted by Andy Stevenson, NRDC, September 31, 2008. "How can we make sure that the committed capital is there to grow our economy and allow America to continue in its role as a leading innovator in the marketplace? Counterintuitive as it may seem, putting a price on carbon dioxide through a 'cap and invest' policy is the answer. 'Cap and Invest' is not just a plan to curb carbon emissions after all, it is an investment plan. By taking a significant portion of the revenues from carbon emissions and investing those in technology driven businesses in the early years, we will be growing industries and encouraging investment into a new energy economy... The cap forms a limit on the amount of CO2 that can be emitted in a given year. This declining limit is then broken up into permits that are then auctioned off to emitting entities, creating a huge pool of revenue in the process. The capital from these auctions can then be used in the early years to invest in the benefits of new technologies that will further reduce our dependence on high carbon fuels. Once sufficient capital has been deployed to jump start emerging energy technologies, this program would then be transformed from a 'cap and invest' program into a 'cap and dividend' program that would rebate energy revenues back to the American people."
2008-10-02
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