Emissions Cap
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Think of a dormant volcano. It's got a cap on it.
An emissions cap is a similar idea. It's a legally binding mandate that puts a lid on greenhouse gas emissions, and slowly lowers it over time.
The science clearly tells us where to put the lid, what the maximum amount of allowable emissions should be. Science describes this point in many different ways, but the easiest formulation is this:
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2% every year.
Otherwise, like a volcano, the climate will erupt in unpredictable fury.
Setting the cap is the easy part, relatively speaking. We know what the science is, and what we need to do: 2% a year.
The harder part is figuring out how to enforce the cap.
The options include: a carbon tax, a cap and trade system, a cap-and auction system, and a cap and invest system. Learn more from this article, called Carbon Capping: Let's Do it Right.
