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A report released
Tuesday by the EPA provided a very rosy prediction for the annual cost of
instituting carbon emission controls. According to the EPA study, the cap on
carbon pollution proposed by Reps. Henry Waxman and Ed Markey would only raise
energy costs for U.S. consumers by $98 to $140 per year per household.
The report did not address all of provisions put forth in the Waxman/Markey Act, but rather focused on its cap-and-trade program. The EPA warned that its findings are not perfect: "EPA has not yet had time to conduct sensitivity analyses of key assumptions so the generality of these findings are unknown," the agency notes in the report's introduction. One such key assumption was that new coal plants – presumably employing futuristic gasification and regenerative technology – would come online as early as 2015. Carbon emission credits, as outlined in the bill, were estimated at $13 to $17 per metric ton, with the allowance prices rising steadily over the next few decades. Those numbers are consistent with more recent forecasts, however, it also represents a historically low price, which may have skewed the numbers.
Environmentalists have already jumped on the figure. "For as little as a dime a day we can solve climate change, invest in a clean energy future, and save billions in imported oil," said Environmental Defense Fund Director of Economic Policy and Analysis Nat Keohane, Ph.D, in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
Still, the peer-reviewed report, inconclusive as it is, may be a good sign for an industry that expects to have to charge consumers thousands of dollars per year.
The report did not address all of provisions put forth in the Waxman/Markey Act, but rather focused on its cap-and-trade program. The EPA warned that its findings are not perfect: "EPA has not yet had time to conduct sensitivity analyses of key assumptions so the generality of these findings are unknown," the agency notes in the report's introduction. One such key assumption was that new coal plants – presumably employing futuristic gasification and regenerative technology – would come online as early as 2015. Carbon emission credits, as outlined in the bill, were estimated at $13 to $17 per metric ton, with the allowance prices rising steadily over the next few decades. Those numbers are consistent with more recent forecasts, however, it also represents a historically low price, which may have skewed the numbers.
Environmentalists have already jumped on the figure. "For as little as a dime a day we can solve climate change, invest in a clean energy future, and save billions in imported oil," said Environmental Defense Fund Director of Economic Policy and Analysis Nat Keohane, Ph.D, in testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
Still, the peer-reviewed report, inconclusive as it is, may be a good sign for an industry that expects to have to charge consumers thousands of dollars per year.
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