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Comment 114 for Design Comments for the GHG Scoping Plan (sp-design-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: John
Last Name: Canfield
Email Address: jcanfield@ebay.com
Affiliation:
Subject: Cap and Dividend: a political necessity as energy prices rise
Comment:
To Chairman Nichols and the ARB Staff: Congratulations on a very comprehensive and thoughtful AB32 Draft Scoping Plan. ARB is in a unique position to establish innovative, effective, and just climate change regulations that can be used as a model for national and global regulation. Thank you for establishing an open and transparent process for this important work. Please accept the following requests regarding the design of the cap-and-trade mechanism. 1) The draft plan is to be commended for including the vast majority of GHG-emitting sectors in the cap, and I encourage you phase in the largest sector (transportation fuel) as close to 2012 as possible. 2) 100% auction should be the program design from the beginning. Having the polluters pay for all of their emissions is the fairest, and also the simplest. Opening the door to free allowances will create a lobbying frenzy and a huge distraction from more important environmental work. 3) A monthly dividend should be the primary use for auction revenue. A recent CBO study showed that lump-sum dividends are the only approach that avoids regressive impact to the 40% lowest-income residents. Also, as gas and energy prices increase, a steadily increasing dividend sent to all residents may be the only politically viable way to keep public support behind climate change measures. With cap-and-dividend, every resident has the opportunity to profit if they reduce their carbon footprint. I hope that we will all look back at California’s AB32 implementation as an key step in the global fight to prevent climate change. Thanks for your leadership. Best regards, John Canfield Member, Climate Protection Campaign Sr. Director, Trust & Safety Policy Management, eBay (these comments represent my own opinions, and not that of my employer)
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2008-08-13 23:08:31
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