Posts Tagged: carbon

Is cap-and-trade working? So far

A powerplant at sunset. (Photo: David Crockett)

by JULIA ZUCKERMAN posted 07.01.2014

OPINION: So, while the program is certainly generating revenue for the state, is it working? Eighteen months in, it appears the answer is yes. Firms affected by the requirements say that they are paying attention to it, that they believe it’s here to stay, and that it’s prompted them to look at ways to reduce emissions. In recent interviews with cement industry stakeholders we learned that companies are factoring the carbon price into their analysis of investment opportunities.

January countdown: Fuel policy good for health — and wallet

Smoggy air envelops downtown Los Angeles. (Photo: Shutterstock).

by TIM O'CONNOR and BONNIE HOLMES-GEN posted 05.27.2014

OPINION: Despite strong efforts to ratchet down on smog and soot pollution, California still has some of the worst air quality in the nation and most urban areas in California continue to struggle with polluted air.

OPINION: Most of us don’t think twice about our options when we stop to fill our tank with gasoline. But what if you knew you had a choice of fuels, not just of brands?

It is fitting that the Western States Petroleum Association’s latest critique of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard invoked a 22-year-old desperado movie. The message that Californians should continue to rely exclusively on a single fuel for our cars and trucks, much of which comes from unstable sources, is outdated. And just like Thelma and Louise,

In the movie Thelma and Louise, the two hapless heroines clasp hands and hurl their turquois Thunderbird over a cliff and into an abyss of certain death.  It’s become an iconic moment in American film, a noble if extreme solution when all hope is lost.

California is about to hurl itself over a cliff

Gov. Brown said his plan to take $500 million from California’s cap-and-trade auction funds — money that was intended to directly further efforts to fight greenhouse gas emissions — is a “reasonable accommodation” aided in part by voters’ approval last year of a measure to raise corporate taxes.

“We had Proposition 39 funding for

California is home to the world’s greatest innovation economy. From semiconductors to social networks, the state boasts a rich tradition of supporting new technologies that spawn job-creating companies and industries and provide California consumers with the goods and services that make their lives better. But recent attacks on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard could stifle

California was first in the nation to mandate a 10 percent reduction in the overall carbon intensity of fuel sold in the state by 2020.  However, we will not assume a real national leadership role in this important endeavor without first stepping back from California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program to reassess critical feasibility,

Companies spent nearly $100 million an hour to buy carbon pollution credits at California’s first auction under the state’s law to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the hefty price tag, the final per-credit price was nearly the bare-minimum — $10 each — required by the auction and more than $2 below the per-credit market