Bloomberg on Cap on Emissions

Bloomberg is 100% in favor of putting a price on carbon. And he was for cap-and-trade as the means to do it before he was against it. In his national energy policy speech in May, he was behind it, but at the mayors conference in November, he announced his support for a tax on carbon instead, arguing the following:

“A direct charge [through a carbon tax] would eliminate the uncertainty that companies would face in a cap-and-trade system. It would be easier to implement and enforce, it would prevent special interests from opening up loopholes, and, it would create an opportunity to cut taxes...Studies show that a pollution fee of $15 for every ton of greenhouse gas would allow us to return more than $500 a year to the average taxpayer."