California Begins Auctioning Greenhouse Gas Permits
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) -- California has begun auctioning permits for greenhouse gas emissions, launching what is expected to be the world's second-largest carbon market.
The California Air Resources Board says it began selling pollution "allowances" for the first time Wednesday as planned, in a closed, online auction.
The board says the results of the auction—what price was paid for a ton of carbon, and how many companies participated—will be released Nov. 19.
The cap-and-trade plan is a central piece of the state's 2006 global warming law, AB32, a suite of regulations meant to dramatically reduce the state's emissions of heat-trapping gases.
The auction occurred despite a last-minute lawsuit from the California Chamber of Commerce, which has argued the program should be invalidated as an illegal tax.
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