| A cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide generated $1.3 billion in benefits for nine U.S. states, a finding that may win converts elsewhere in the country. Funding from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative also created more than 14,000 new jobs in the Northeast and saved consumers $460 million in lower electric bills over the past three years, according to a report released Monday by Analysis Group, a Boston-based consulting company.
The benefits came mainly from customer rebates and efficiency measures spurred by the program. The six-year-old carbon trading market, the first in the U.S., may serve as a model for other states, which all must now regulate emissions to meet new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency..............................................Full Article: Source |