Comparing the Clean Air Act and a Carbon Price

Resources for the Future Discussion Paper No. 13-13

30 Pages Posted: 10 Jul 2013

See all articles by Nathan D. Richardson

Nathan D. Richardson

University of South Carolina - Joseph F. Rice School of Law; Resources for the Future

Arthur G. Fraas

Resources for the Future

Date Written: June 26, 2013

Abstract

Over the last half decade, a variety of federal legislative proposals for limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been put forward, most of which would set a price on carbon. As of early 2013, the one politically plausible policy appears to be a carbon tax, passed as part of a larger fiscal reform package. Meanwhile, the US Environmental Protection Agency has begun regulating GHG emissions from a variety of sources using its authority under the Clean Air Act. It may be necessary to choose between these two policies, however. The Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill that failed in 2009 would have preempted much of this authority, and it appears likely that a carbon tax law would do the same. But how can one make this choice? What are the key questions and issues to consider? The purpose of this paper is to compare these policies. Our aim here is therefore not to determine whether an exchange is wise or unwise. Instead, our intention is to give policymakers and other interested readers an impartial assessment of both policies and, in particular, the features that are important to a comparative evaluation. We don’t give answers, but hope at least to give the right questions to ask.

Keywords: Clean Air Act, carbon pricing, greenhouse gas emissions, cap and trade, climate policy

JEL Classification: H20, H23, Q50, Q54, Q58

Suggested Citation

Richardson, Nathan D. and Fraas, Arthur G., Comparing the Clean Air Act and a Carbon Price (June 26, 2013). Resources for the Future Discussion Paper No. 13-13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2291991 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2291991

Nathan D. Richardson (Contact Author)

University of South Carolina - Joseph F. Rice School of Law ( email )

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Resources for the Future ( email )

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Arthur G. Fraas

Resources for the Future ( email )

1616 P ST, NW
Washington, DC 20036
United States

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