But he was unable to enact a cap-and-trade program to reduce the level of heat-trapping emissions.
In 2006 emissions in EU countries participating in the cap-and-trade program went up while U.S. emissions went down.
In 2007, both Newt Gingrich and John McCain wanted a cap-and-trade program in order to reduce carbon emissions.
The bill failed this year but is likely to return for the next Congress--both presidential candidates favor a cap-and-trade program.
In 2008 another piece of major legislation was introduced: the Lieberman-Warner bill, which would implement a nationwide cap-and-trade program on carbon emissions.
California regulators have approved four categories of carbon offsets in its soon-to-launch cap-and-trade program: forestry, urban forestry, ozone depleting substances, and agricultural methane.
In his speech, the Arizona senator proposed capping carbon emissions incrementally, with the goal of returning to 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 using a cap-and-trade program.
In his speech Monday, the presumed GOP nominee proposed capping carbon emissions incrementally, with the goal of returning to 1990 emission levels by the year 2020 using a cap-and-trade program.
"The reason is that the cap-and-trade program would still result in higher prices for consumers and households but would not impose additional costs on firms, " he said in his prepared testimony.
Economists generally agree that the key to addressing climate change is to raise the cost of burning fossil fuels, either directly, through a carbon tax, or indirectly, through a cap-and-trade program.
The cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide is modeled, generally, after an existing one to cut sulfur dioxide one that was enacted in 1990 as part of the Clean Air Act with the approval of the elder President Bush.
The bill being proposed would reduce nationwide greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050 through a so-called "cap-and-trade" program under which companies would buy and sell emissions credits.
The EU decided in 2008 that aviation should become part of its cap-and-trade carbon program after airline discharges in Europe doubled over two decades.
Obama talks about energy in most of his speeches, but, in contrast with 2009, when the centerpiece of his program was a cap-and-trade approach to reducing carbon emissions, his goal today is unclear.
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