Is cap-and-trade fair?

Yes

By Anne Blair, program manager, Diesel and Bioenergy, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Atlanta Office

Cap-and-trade programs are proven policy measures that harness market forces in order to achieve cost-effective, and often innovative, environmental protection. Establishing a price for pollution that is equally applied to all carbon-producing energy sources is the fairest and most equitable way to shift to a low-carbon economy. Setting a carbon cap will provide an incentive for utilities and businesses to reduce pollution while stimulating clean technology innovation at the same time. ... If cap-and-trade is implemented with complementary clean energy policies that include renewable energy and energy efficiency standards, a comprehensive program could meet our region’s pollution-reducing goals while spurring the investments and innovation needed to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and result in net savings to consumers and businesses.

No

By Glenn English, CEO, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

Addressing climate change will increase electric bills for American consumers because there is no method of reducing carbon dioxide for free. America’s electric cooperatives are prepared to do their fair share. Unfortunately, some proposals in Congress create regional disparities, forcing some consumers to shoulder more than their fair share. Other consumers, as a result, get to enjoy a free ride. ... For example, some consumers on the West Coast could actually see their electricity bills reduced because they would get more free allowances than necessary to cover their emissions, while consumers in the Midwest, Great Plains, and South would receive far fewer permits than they need. ... Everyone is going to have to pay the costs of addressing climate change, but climate change legislation should be about reducing CO2 emission — not redistributing wealth across the country.