Horrible things are happening in 10 states north of North Carolina, where irresponsible do-gooders have implemented a carbon cap-and-trade system...that just might be working.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI) reported yesterday that CO2 emissions in the 10 states that participate in the cap and trade program were 23 percent lower in 2009-2011 than in the preceding three years, even though electricity use only declined 2.4 percent.
The changes in climate policy did not appear to hurt the states' economic growth. Inflation-adjusted gross state products in the 10 RGGI states increased by 1.4 percent from 2008 to 2011 compared to 0.5 percent in non-RGGI states. From 2006-2008 the change in inflation-adjusted gross state products in RGGI and non-RGGI states was identical.
