Greenspace
Environmental news from California and beyond

California pushes cap-and-trade plan

November 24, 2009 | 1:58 pm

California today issued the nation’s first blueprint for a broad-based cap-and-trade program to control global warming emissions.

The pioneering effort would cap greenhouse gases emitted by more than 600 power plants, refineries, cement plants and other big factories at 15% below today’s levels by 2020. And it would allow companies to buy and sell emissions allowances among themselves as a way to meet the overall goal less expensively.

The preliminary rule is a “milestone ... to address our state’s contributions to climate change, as the eighth largest economy in the world,â€