Managing Costs in a U.S. GHG Trading Program: Issues, Options, and Implementation

One of the most controversial issues in the debate over the design of a U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) trading program is how such a program will address concerns about potential costs and adverse impacts on the economy. A variety of proposals have emerged, including an explicit upper limit on allowances prices (in S.1766, the Low Carbon Economy Act) and an independent board to manage the emissions budget over time, in order to contain costs (in S.2191, the Climate Security Act).

This workshop, co-sponsored by Resources for the Future and the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, will feature two expert panels to explore implications, advantages, and disadvantages associated with different approaches to managing costs.

The first panel (8:30 a.m. to 0:30a.m.) will focus on general mechanisms, like a safety valve, a quantity-limited safety valve, borrowing, and others.

The second panel (10:45 a.m. to 12:30p.m.) will focus on the potential role of an independent board, both to provide oversight and to intervene in the market with discretion, rather than via explicitly legislated rules.

Half of the scheduled time will be reserved for questions from the audience.

For more information, contact April Stanley at events@rff.org or (202) 328-5074. To attend, please RSVP by March 12.