US Senators edge toward carbon cutting consensus

US Senators have made baby steps toward introducing federal carbon caps on the back of evidence from industry. Bizarrely, some electricity firms pleaded for the politicians to speed up the process.

Ironically, the front-running regime emerging from Tuesday’s hearing is a Kyoto-aping ‘carbon market’, where overall emissions are capped, but firms can trade their rights to them. The idea is that as well as the stick of capping firms are encouraged to cut their emissions with the carrot of being able to sell unused quota.

theregister