State shift of carbon fee to deficit questioned
Gov. Jerry Brown's budget proposal includes nearly $500 million in spending from the proceeds of California's first-in-the-nation cap-and-trade program, but the plan is raising questions about whether the governor is using the new money to cut the budget deficit instead of promoting new greenhouse-gas-reducing programs.
The controversial cap-andtrade program essentially puts a price on carbon emissions by limiting the amount of CO2 that can be produced by the state's largest polluters. They have to purchase credits from the state to cover the amount of carbon emitted.
While the program went into effect Jan. 1, the state's first auction to sell the credits will happen in August, with a second later in the year. Environmentalists and industry leaders have long pushed for the California Air Resources Board, which oversees the program as part of the AB32 greenhouse gas reduction law, to use the money on different programs - with ideas ranging from cutting checks for all residents to massive green jobs programs.
In the first year, the carbon fee may generate upward of $1 billion, though the exact amount won't be known until after the auctions.
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