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Comment 20 for 2013 Investment Plan for Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds (2013investmentpln-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Stacey
Last Name: Meinzen
Email Address: staceymeinzen@gmail.com
Affiliation:
Subject: AB32 Cap and Tade Investment Plan
Comment:
Thank you for accepting these comments on the Cap-and-Trade Auction Proceeds Investment Plan Concept Paper. The best use of revenues from an auction of permits under the AB32 cap-and-trade program is to return auction proceeds to the public through a dividend. The Economic and Allocations Advisory Committee (EAAC) recommended that “the largest share (roughly 75%) of allowance value should be returned to California households… through lump-sum payments…” and “roughly 25% of this value used to finance socially beneficial investments and other public expenditures.” Dividends accomplish the AB32 goals relating to equity, and maximizing additional environmental, economic, and overall societal benefits. Although rebates are already being proposed for the electricity sector, those rebates will not compensate consumers for costs from transportation fuels and indirect costs from other goods and services that are passed through as energy costs rise. When the transportation sector enters the program in 2015, consumers will see a very visible hit to their pocketbooks. The best way to defuse a potential political backlash is to include a dividend for transportation sector and indirect costs in the Investment Plan. Some investments are expensive and may not result in reduced emissions until after 2020. That said, if the State follows the 75% dividends and 25% investments model recommended by the EAAC, some positive investment projects would include local government activities that reduce GHGs, financing programs that leverage private capital for energy efficiency (i.e. PACE financing for building energy efficiency and on-bill financing), activities that reduce the carbon content of water treatment and delivery, projects in disadvantaged communities (i.e. school bus retrofits), market transformation and R&D programs (i.e. distributed generation, micro-grids, web-enabled transportation information and networking systems), and biochar carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector. Most importantly, please include dividends in the Auction Proceeds Investment Plan. Sincerely,
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2013-02-22 11:13:50
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