The whole point of a cap-and-trade plan is to raise the price of energy to the point that a) you change people's behavior and b) alternative types of energy production become price competitive. If that isn't the end result there is no sense in doing it.
Cap-and-trade is not intended to line the pockets of carbon traders.
Cap-and-100% rebate.
From Bloomberg:
Limiting the number of cheap carbon credits that can be imported from poor countries in a proposed U.S. “cap-and-trade” system will drive up costs for consumers, an emissions trading group said.Senate Democrats unveiled a proposal Sept. 30 that reduces by half the initial limits on offsets from tropical rain forests and clean energy projects in developing countries compared with a plan passed the U.S. House in June.
U.S. power plants, oil refineries and factories could use the offsets, each representing one metric ton of carbon dioxide, instead of the pollution allowances created by the cap-and-trade program to comply with new greenhouse-gas reduction targets.
“Depriving the U.S. carbon market of international offsets has no benefit, and would lead to higher costs and a less efficient, more volatile marketplace,” Henry Derwent, president and chief executive officer of the Geneva-based International Emissions Trading Association, said in an e-mailed statement....MORE
