Covering the new California climate bill, AB 398, In These Times spoke with Near Zero’s Danny Cullenward:
“What we’re seeing is two very different theories of how to get to two-thirds,” Cullenward says. The theory behind SB 775, Cullenward told me, was to garner public support by giving constituents a financial reason to support the program—the potential to receive hundreds of dollars in yearly dividends. To garner industry support, it also factored a border-adjustment measure into the cap-and-trade program, which would effectively levy a carbon tax on imports to keep California-based companies competitive with those operating in states without one.
By contrast, “what you see in AB 398 is a compromise directed at bringing industry on board,” he says. “This is largely the current market design with a few minor tweaks, most of which directly address industry concerns and benefit specific industries with the intention of bringing them on board.”
Read the full article, “California Gov. Jerry Brown Is Backing a Climate Bill Full of Giveaways to Polluters,” by Kate Aronoff, on the In These Times website.