From Environmental Capital:
One key part of Sen. McCain’s bill, like many other climate-change proposals now pending, is that he would allocate a big chunk of emissions permits to industry for free. They would have to buy in an auction some smaller portion of the permits. Europe did something similar when it started its emissions-trading scheme; permits were given away generously in 2005 and will be auctioned in 2013.
That’s what has Sen. Obama riled up. “I’ve been very specific about proposing 100 percent auctioning, which makes an enormous difference in terms of how effective it’s going to be,” Sen. Obama told Reuters. He added that he is in regular talks with former vice-president Gore and hopes to start work on climate-change policy as soon as he secures the nomination.
Meanwhile, it’s instructive to note who’s among the co-sponsors of the Lieberman-McCain climate bill of 2007: Sen. Barack Obama. Would President Obama veto legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Obama?
