In the News

President Obama is right to auction off 100% of the carbon credits and he is also right to refund that revenue to American taxpayers—this is the key piece of the puzzle that will promote broad based support for climate change policy.

President Barack Obama hits three nails on the head with his plan to cap carbon emissions: weaning us off fossil fuels, spurring a wave of investment and job creation, and putting cash in the pockets of Americans who most need it.

Often, the Superfund is associated with the big toxic cleanups one reads about in the news. But just as important are the toxic disasters that never happen because of the threat of Superfund liability. By bringing the Superfund back from the dead, President Obama will reinvigorate incentives for proper waste disposal taxes that have essentially lapsed while the Superfund stalled.

And in the midst of a severe economic downturn, [Livermore] says, “it’s going to be essential to have a strong cost-benefit analysis in support of any regulation as a way of selling it to the American public. If I were a President who wanted to have a strong environmental agenda, the last thing I would do is say ‘We’re not going to look at the costs of these regulations, we’re just going to do them. “

Sunstein knows “you have to understand the consequences between difficult choices,” said Revesz. “He’ll be focused on making the choice that maximizes social welfare as opposed to some ideological predisposition.”

Until existing imbalances are eliminated, it would make sense for the Obama administration to implement short-term mechanisms to create incentivizes for clean energy. But the longer-term focus should be on trying to move away from this approach as quickly as possible as it can only be a stop gap measure treating a symptom and not the disease.

Michael Livermore, an expert on regulatory policy at New York University’s School of Law, says revoking that executive order carried an important symbolic message: “Whatever you thought you knew about regulatory policy—things are going to be different.”

This is a step that the Obama administration is taking, saying ‘We want to allow that process to work without political interference,’ and I really think that’s the signal that they’re sending right now,” Livermore said.

Cass Sunstein, one of the new President’s friends and advisers since Obama’s days at the University of Chicago, has landed one of the most powerful jobs in Washington—but one that is little known outside the Beltway. As director of the Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), he will review every major regulation promulgated by any federal agency, from clean air to airline safety.

The Senate has a very important opportunity to improve the stimulus bill,’ Livermore said. ‘It must make sure this stimulus is a long-term dividend for the economy that keeps paying us back and isn’t just a flash in the pan.