Last June, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) put before the House for approval a piece of legislation that basically calls for a 3 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2012, 17 percent by 2020, 42 by 2030, and 83 percent by 2050 from 2005 levels. In essence, the government would set a cap on the amount of carbon dioxide that could be emitted and would issue allowances to polluting sectors that could buy and sell those rights - a cap and trade scheme.
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