Analysts Stress Affordability In Options For California GHG Cap & Trade Plan

Adding to an extensive menu of proposals, California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) is giving lawmakers options for tightening and extending the state’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program beyond 2030, though it is emphasizing efforts to maintain affordability to lessen economic harms on industries and the public. The Legislature “may want to focus on improving affordability, particularly given that the extension of the program could put upward pressure on allowance prices and result in higher associated costs to emitters and consumers,” the...