Obama, EPA actions make cap-and-trade more likely

President Obama’s use of executive authority and his Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) interpretation of existing laws might have laid the groundwork for renewed cap-and-trade efforts, political experts said Wednesday. The courts have approved many of the EPA’s pollution regulations, giving Obama license to propose new rules, former EPA Administrator Carol Browner said during a Politico-hosted panel discussion at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. She explained those court victories have created momentum that might make industry-specific cap-and-trade plans more palatable than the prospect of facing new regulations. Though comprehensive cap-and-trade legislation might be off the table for now, Browner said that dynamic opens opportunities for piecemeal progress on cap-and-trade. “I think we will look at this sector by sector,” she said. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who co-authored cap-and-trade legislation that passed the House of Representatives in 2009 but died in the Senate, said changing realities make it possible for a variation of his massive bill to surface. He pointed to increasing installations of renewable electricity capacity, recently finalized fuel economy standards and U.S. carbon dioxide emissions hitting a 20-year low as developments that would soften the impact of cap-and-trade.  “It creates a climate where there’s a business community that’s on our side,” Markey said...more