The World Series of Carbon
Nicely said:
Imagine that carbon permits are World Series tickets. If the government gives all World Series tickets to Exxon for free, will Exxon give them to us for nothing, or sell them for what the market will bear?
What, give something away for nothing? That's not the Exxon I know.
This analogy, borrowed from Peter Barnes of the Tomales Bay Institute, is the simplest explanation I've seen of why grandfathering carbon permits is a bad idea.
Among climate policy geeks, it used to be the conventional wisdom that grandfathering -- that is, handing out the right to emit carbon based on previous years' emissions -- was a smart way to go. Some of this support was political in nature. Big emitters, the theory went, might be less likely to kill a bill if their "right" to emit carbon was fairly secure.
But the times are a' changing. Now, most people are coming to recognize that grandfathering is a dud. Instead, carbon auctions are the rage.
Here's why.
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Special Series
This Land: Measure 37's Impact on Oregon
In a Series
Measure 37: Willamette Valley
A few months ago, Sightline produced the first-ever map showing how Measure 37 claims could lead to an exurban population boom outside of Portland's growth boundaries (see here). Now, we've expanded our analysis to include Oregon's heartland: the Willamette Valley from Salem to Eugene.
In the map below, each red dot represents 10 new people based on active Measure 37 claims.
This image provides only a glimpse. Bigger and clearer versions are available here, and the whole series can be viewed here.
