cap and trade

Lane Bus Project, with help from EW and the Healthy Climate Partnership, is holding a Brewhaha political forum at 7 tonight (April 7) at Cozmic Pizza, 8th and Charnelton. The event is affectionately named "Cap and Trade-aganza — Clash of the Climate Titans" and will feature some of the biggest names in Oregon politics, including Congressman Peter DeFazio and former secretary of state Bill Bradbury. The moderator for the evening is Eugene attorney Dan Galpern of the Western Environmental Law Center.

The question that will be posed tonight is: Should Oregon have a cap and trade system of its own? Arguments for and against are expected, and we should learn a bit more about the bigger picture of climate control systems.

What is cap and trade? According to the Oregon Environmental Council, cap and trade is when a regulating body places a cap on the amount of emissions that a group of polluters is allowed to emit. “The cap is set lower than current emissions and gradually ratcheted down over time. The total amount of emissions permitted under the cap is divided into allowances, say one ton of pollution equals one allowance. These allowances are allocated to polluters who are then free to buy or sell them, while staying within the limits of the cap. Polluters who are able to reduce their emissions at low cost can sell their extra allowances to polluters who face higher costs.”

Currently, Senate Bill 80, sponsored by Gov. Kulongoski, directs the Environmental Quality Commission to set a cap on greenhouse gas pollution in Oregon from electricity generation, transportation, and other activities. “It allows for greenhouse gas emission allowances and offsets to keep greenhouse gas pollution within a state, regional or nationally established cap,” according to the Bus Project. “It would require reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and registration.”

Find more info at www.lanebus.org or www.busproject.org