There is another battle that is preparing between the Trump administration and California.
An executive decree of the White House published earlier this week wants to retreat what he calls “all illegitimate obstacles” by various states to develop American energy resources and called the California ceiling and trade program which has been in place since 2012.
But Governor Gavin Newsom and other state officials say that Cap and Trade is there to stay.
“California’s efforts to reduce harmful pollution will not be derailed by a glorified press release pretending to be a decree,” Newsom said in a statement.
The ceiling and trade program requires power plants, natural gas suppliers and large industries in the golden state that emit greenhouse gases to buy permits on carbon pollution they produce.
The California Air Resources Board, which administers the program, calls it “a fundamental and profitable policy tool” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by establishing a market for negotiable emission credits, which generates money to finance decarbonization projects.
Pulled: “Protecting American energy against the scope of the state”, Trump’s decree said that affordable and reliable inner energy supply is “threatened when the governments of states and premises seek to regulate energy beyond their constitutional or statutory authorities”.
The order has accused New York and Vermont as states that use “extortion laws” on energy producers who emit greenhouse gases.
He also targeted California, saying that the Golden State “punishes carbon use by adopting impossible ceilings on the quantity of carbon can use, anything but companies to pay significant sums to” exchange “carbon credits to meet the radical requirements of California.”
The ordinance continues by saying that such “laws and policies weaken our national security and devastate Americans by increasing the energy costs of families from one ocean to another, despite some of these families do not live or vote in states with these paralyzing policies”.
And he orders the American prosecutor general Pam Bondi to “quickly take all appropriate measures to stop the application of the laws of the States and the pursuit of civil actions … that the Attorney General determines to be illegal” and “recommend any additional presidential or legislative action necessary to stop the execution” of these laws and policies.
The specific measures can be taken were not stated, but the president of Air Resources Board told the Union-Tribune that the agency, known as the carb to be short, did not move.
“It should now be clear that the only thing that the Trump administration actions accomplish is chaos and uncertainty, but one thing is certain – California will hold our land and fight to maintain our authority to reduce harmful pollution as much as possible,” said Liane Randolph in a press release ,,
Gluciole officials said the CAP and Trade program had financed $ 28 billion in climate investments that have delivered “more than half a million projects across the State, supporting 30,000 jobs and reducing millions of tonnes of carbon emissions”.
Authorized by a pair of bills in Sacramento and adopted with a two -thirds vote in the Legislative Assembly, the CAP and Trade program was the first of its kind in the country. The state of Washington has adopted a similar measure and California and the persistent leaf state worked to connect their carbon markets with the Canadian province of Quebec.
The executive decree of the White House has not been the first time that Trump has tried to upset the ceiling and trade.
During its first mandate, the Trump administration tried to block any link between California and Quebec. But a judge of the federal district threw the case in 2020.
If another confrontation arrives, the California Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier this week told Politico that the State “remains determined to use the full law and the tools of this office to fight the climate crisis from front and protect public health and well-being”.
The Cali-Calap and Commercial program has its criticism, which sometimes label it as “ceiling and tax”.
The program is entering the costs and taxes that California drivers pay each time they go to the service station.
In October 2023, the office of the State Legislative Analyst – the non -partisan tax and political advisor for the state legislature – estimated that the ceiling and trade program alone added about 27 cents per gallon of petrol to the state sold in the state.
Part of the money collected by the ceiling and trade has been spent in the form of a Californian climate credit which automatically provides a reduction in electricity bills for all customers served by public services belonging to state investors, such as San Diego Gas & Electric.
Twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall), customers have received discounts on their electricity bills; And once a year (in the spring), those with natural gas connections in their homes receive a reduction in their natural gas bills.
The amount of the credit varies each year, depending on the amount of income that the ceiling and trade program generates.
This year, climate credit will return $ 81.38 to all SDG & E electrical declarations during the billing cycle in April. Another reduction of $ 81.38 will take place in October.
SDG & E residential customers with natural gas will see a $ 54.21 reduction in their gas bills this month.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
