Addressing Climate Change With a Comprehensive U.S. Cap-and-Trade System

摘要

The need for a domestic U.S. policy that seriously addresses climate change is increasingly apparent. A cap-and-trade system is the best and most likely approach for the United States in the short to medium term. Besides providing greater certainty about emissions levels, capand- trade offers an easy means (partial free distribution of allowances) of compensating for the inevitably unequal burdens imposed by climate policy; it is straightforward to harmonize with other countries' climate policies; it avoids the current political aversion in the United States to taxes; and it has a history of successful adoption.