Recent News : Economic crisis rattles cap-and-trade debate

Darren Samuelsohn, Greenwire senior reporter

With both presidential candidates vowing to proceed with aggressive climate agendas next year despite titanic economic woes, many experts are warning that those ambitious plans must be changed to reflect a diminished national appetite for new programs with hefty price tags.

"They have to keep it front and center in a way, but clearly the fiscal straitjacket already there will be strapped and pulled considerably tighter," said Norman Ornstein, a congressional expert at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

Several ideas could gain traction as promising revenue-neutral alternatives for curbing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions -- including carbon taxes or a "cap and dividend" system that recycles the program's revenue to taxpayers while promoting energy conservation.

Full Article At: Greenwire