CAC of Indiana, Why is it opposing Cap & Trade

[Tidbit]

Canvasser from the Citizens Action Coalition stopped by with a petition against Cap and Trade. I thought the CAC was more of a liberal, envirowingnut group. Is this one of those "even a broken clock is right twice a day" moments?

[sonofagun]

It appears they are against this bill because they are afraid it gives too many incentives in the form of emmision credit bailouts to Indiana's Coal fired power industry.

In others words, this bill won't shut down the coal fired plants fast enough for this groups liking.

Make sense now?

[sonofagun]

This is what has them riled:

HR 2998, if passed, would:

Give away billions of dollars to the utility industry in the form of emission permits (allowances) for carbon dioxide and create loopholes to keep the existing fleet of obsolete coal plants running.

Force electric ratepayers through a surcharge on their bills to pay for research & development that the industry should be paying for to determine if capturing carbon and injecting it deep underground is feasible.

Create a sham moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants by exempting 45 plants, including Duke’s proposed coal gasification plant at Edwardsport.

Create a Renewable Electricity Standard that maintains the status quo for renewable investment. Research conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that the RES in HR 2998 will most likely be weaker than what the market is doing today in terms of wind and other renewable energy investment.

Prohibit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide emissions.

[Tidbit]

Thank you. I should’ve dug a little deeper. I’m chuckling to myself because the CAC representative, knowing his conservative audience, tailored his sales pitch. I kept thinking to myself, “don’t I usually send these guys packing?”