California Supreme Court gives state green light to vote on cap-and-trade regulation

(Sacramento, CA – September 29, 2011) Yesterday’s decision by California’s Supreme Court to deny a request to stop implementation of the state’s cap-and-trade regulation was an important step toward approval of the program, according to Environmental Defense Fund.

“This decision blocks the most recent effort to put an immediate end to California’s progress finalizing its cap-and-trade regulation. It also affirms the importance of California’s groundbreaking effort to limit and dramatically reduce greenhouse gas pollution,” said Tim O’Connor, Director of EDF’s California Climate and Energy Initiative.

“More importantly, it helps set the table for CARB’s October hearing where the board is expected to approve the final cap-and-trade regulation. California’s market-based program will lead to cleaner air and lower energy costs for Californians, and it complements other regulations to ensure polluters play their part in cleaning up communities, deploying innovative clean technologies, and improving public health.”

California’s Department of Public Health recently evaluated the potential impacts of a cap-and-trade regulation and found that it was not likely to cause any adverse impacts to public health and welfare, especially if money raised from the program were reinvested in California communities to help protect against the impacts of climate change, an essential element of the state’s plan.

Since that analysis was released, EDF has been working with academic, environmental and state government experts to develop proposals for adaptively managing the cap-and-trade program to guard against any unwanted impacts that may arise.