California Approves First US Carbon Trading Scheme

The state of California has approved a landmark emissions trading scheme with officials saying the US state needs to ‘move away from fossil fuels and to cleaner energy sources’.

California’s cap-and-trade scheme will set a statewide limit on greenhouse gas emissions, with industry given allowances for what it may emit. Companies exceeding those allowances will be required to buy extra polluting credits from the marketplace. Anyone emitting less than their permitted allowance can sell their extra allowances.

Eventually, state officials plan to reduce the number of allowances available to encourage industry to look for ways of reducing its emissions and switching to renewable alternatives. Officials said the scheme would ‘accelerate progress towards a clean-energy economy’.

The Global Warming Solutions Act, signed in 2006, requires the state to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, provide incentives for renewable energy and introduce a cap-and-trade scheme.

Read more at Sustainability Ninja