White House May Postpone Payment Portion Of Cap-And-Trade Proposal - AFP

[hatrack]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama's top science advisor said the White House could agree to delay making companies pay for all greenhouse gas emission permits under his pollution cap-and-trade plan.

"The idea, obviously, is to end up with a bill that reflects both the thinking of Congress and the administration, a bill that the president can sign," said top aide John Holdren in an interview with the Washington Post that was published on the newspaper's website Wednesday. But when it comes to auctioning off all emission permits, Holdren said: "Whether you get to start with that or get there over a period of time is something that's being discussed."

The president made tackling carbon emissions one of the centerpieces of his campaign, contrasting sharply with the administration of George W. Bush that repeatedly cast doubts on the existence of global warning. Following though on that pledge, Obama included a cap-and-trade proposal in his 3.55-trillion-dollar budget plan presented to Congress in February, which is still subject to intense political wrangling before it can reach the president's desk for him to sign.

Obama's plan would set a cap for emissions of greenhouse gases for manufacturers. The government would auction off permits to emit greenhouse gasses to companies, which could trade them on a secondary market. The president proposed auctioning off 100 percent of the emission permits, as opposed to Europe where companies were given the permits, which would provide quick incentives to companies to pollute less.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090409/sc_afp/uspoliticsobamaenvironment