Cap and Trade to Start in California

David Baker in the SF Chronicle reminds us that Wednesday is the GO day for a six-years-in-the-planning Cap and Trade system which, so far, includes California only.  Big risks.

 

Come Wednesday, California will take its boldest, riskiest step yet to fight global warming, opening a market that for the first time will put a price on greenhouse gas emissions in the state.

The cap-and-trade system, six years in the making, will force owners of power plants and factories to buy and sell permits to spew carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. If it works, trimming emissions without trashing the state’s economy, it could serve as a model for the nation.

If it fails, the fallout could doom federal climate-change legislation for years to come.

Read more:

And for those interested, he sketches out how it works, here.