Earth Equity News

High Carbon Cost for 'Clunkers' Program. By Jad Mouawad. NYTimes, August 10, 2009. "Whatever its success in getting new cars off the lots and quickly injecting several billion dollars into the economy, some academics say that the 'cash for clunkers' program is an expensive way to help the environment. The popular program may be costing the government -- and taxpayers -- several hundred dollars for each ton of carbon dioxide emissions that it saves, according to conclusions reached separately by Michael Wara at Stanford University and Christopher R. Knittel of the the University of California, Davis. Both performed back-of-the envelope calculations to figure out how well the program was meeting its environmental goals... Mr. Wara found that the program cost between $200 to $400 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions avoided, and Mr. Knittel's estimates went up to $500 per ton. By contrast, the climate bill recently passed in the House of Representatives would result in a $28 per ton carbon price in 2020, according to analysis by the Congressional Budget Office [PDF, 42]."