Speaking of the economic feasibility of a cap-and-trade system, as Massachusetts secretary of energy and environmental affairs Ian Bowles pointed out in a New York Times editorial over the weekend, the Northeastern states that are members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are already well on their way. Massachusetts and other member states will hold the nation’s first auction of greenhouse gas emissions permits later this year. Their system stands to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for new energy technologies and efficiency upgrades; if the entire country were under a common cap-and-trade system, it is estimated that we could raise tens of billions of dollars each year.
Bowles proposes a federal-state partnership on climate action to help nationalize the success they're already seeing in Massachusetts. Massachusetts cut their annual growth in electricity demand by a third in preparation for the cap, and helped businesses and individuals save money and cut use through rebates, incentives and low-interest loans. Since utilities are managed at the state level, state participation is necessary to make a cap-and-trade system work. But the key here is federal action. Even if states like Massachusetts are paving the way, a national plan is needed to bring the less progressive states on board and make this more than just a localized improvement.
--Kate Sheppard
