Carbon tax versus cap-and-trade

TEXT OF STORY

Lisa Napoli: As the U.N. holds meetings on climate change in New York this week and President Bush looks at how to curb emissions, today a Democratic congressman has his own on idea on how to combat global warming. From the Sustainability Desk, Marketplace’s Dan Grech has more.

Dan Grech: Michigan’s John Dingell thinks people who live in homes over 3,000 square feet shouldn’t be able to deduct interest on their mortgage. He’d also hike the gasoline tax by 50 cents, and add a surcharge to other fossil fuels.

But insiders say the prospects of Dingell’s so-called carbon tax are dimmer than an energy-saving light bulb.

Carter Roberts is president of the World Wildlife Fund:

Carter Roberts: The right solution is a cap-and-trade system, where we set a cap on future CO2 emissions and then create great flexibility in how we reach those targets.

Roberts says this approach encourages innovation that reduce emissions and don’t inconvenience consumers.

The idea is gaining momentum on Capitol Hill, where a cap-and-trade bill is in the works.

I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.