NAMING CAP&TRADE

And the winner is; Getting a new way to brand cap and trade is tougher than it looks…
Matt LeCar, April 5, 2010 (Greentech Media)

"…[A call for readers] to rebrand cap and trade…[would] better frame the climate debate…[but] none of the ideas…[was] a game changer. Indeed, the atmosphere in Washington is so rancorous that whatever slim hopes might have existed a month ago to reframe or reshape the debate, the prospects for movement on climate and energy legislation in the current session have almost completely evaporated by now. Better luck next year, planet Earth!

"…[A] complete recap of the suggestions…Pay to pollute…Pay your way [for the fossil fuel industry]…Pollution (or emissions) licensing…Resource optimization…CLEANS: Clean Energy for America's National Security…American Energy Transition Incentive Program…The American Carbon Tax Refund Bill…(re)Power America [incorporating the acronym for Renewable Energy] or Energize America…The Freedom from Oil Act, Free Energy Act, or Victory Over Foreign Oil Act…Cap and Invest…"

A bill by any such name just ain't got legs. (click to enlarge)

"…A couple of commenters pointed out that 'cap and dividend' is currently in play in some Congressional discussions, and that alternatives such as 'cap and cash' or 'cap and credit' might be appropriate, depending on the ultimate form of the rebate…

"A few observations…First, focusing on the 'pay' side of the equation is, I believe, unlikely ever to capture the public imagination in a positive way. Frankly, what underpins broad support for clean energy policy is probably as much the feeling that we are paying "too much" for our energy today -- or at least sending our money to unsavory and undemocratic parts of the world…As a question of framing, it is certainly a poor plan to "lead with your chin" and start the conversation with the fact that going green costs more."

Has anybody considered the direct approach? (click to enlarge)

"Framing carbon as a traditional environmental "pollution" problem is also, to my mind, disingenuous and risks underselling the complexity and scale of the sustained, global effort required to combat climate change. CO2 is not some trace toxin to be scrubbed from the smokestacks of a recalcitrant local industrial plant. Carbon emissions are an unavoidable consequence of nearly every energy-using decision and purchase…[T]he challenge of actually measuring it, regulating it and reducing it meaningfully enough to achieve the desired climate benefit is orders of magnitude harder than for traditional environmental irritants.

"…[P]ithy buzzword bingo titles…[for the legislation are inadequate]…[W]e need to rebrand (and perhaps reconsider) cap and trade, not merely rename the bill…Finally, to the family tree of "cap and __" alternatives…Good luck explaining it to the American public in a way that sticks. Good luck getting Congress to approve a big new source of revenue… and give the money back to the taxpayer (rather than…[funding] new bailouts, earmarks, or programs). Good luck getting [South Carolina Republican Senator] Lindsey Graham to sip the sweet Kool-Aid of bipartisanship now that he claims the well has been "poisoned" by the Democrats' successful health care reform push...[I]f I had to declare a winner in all of this, it would be coal."