Cap and Charade? Shellenberger to Debate at Commonwealth Club

This Thursday April 22, 2010, Breakthrough President Michael Shellenberger will debate cap and trade at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club at 6 pm PST. For more information and tickets, click here:

Since the passage of the Waxman-Markey climate bill last summer, many have questioned the bills effectiveness in creating a prosperous clean energy economy due to its reliance on dubious carbon offsets, weak renewable electricity standard, and low level of investment in clean energy technology.

A comprehensive analysis of the Waxman-Markey legislation conducted by Breakthrough Institute revealed that the bill would not require emissions reductions in U.S. capped sectors, would not increase the deployment of renewable energy beyond business-as-usual projections, and would invest only a fraction of annual revenues -- less than two percent -- in clean energy innovation.

It is unlikely that the climate legislation set to be released next week in the Senate will be any more effective. More importantly, the idea that a low carbon price, new energy efficiency and renewable energy regulations, and very little investment in clean energy technology would be able to catalyze a clean energy revolution has always been, and will always be, magical climate thinking.

Here are the event details:
 

Michael Shellenberger, Breakthrough Institute

Kristin Eberhard, Legal Director, Western Energy and Climate

Larry Goulder, Chair, Department of Economics, Stanford

Would capping and trading carbon pollution create a prosperous clean energy economy? Or would it be a boondoggle for Wall Street and scammers in developing countries? While touted as a market-based way to put a price on carbon, cap and trade has been parodied by Jon Stewart as the superhero Cap N' Trade and is increasingly questioned by environmentalists and regulators. Yet the state of California and many companies have a lot invested in a cap-and-trade system. Will it die a slow death? Should it? What would be a better way to create a global price for greenhouse gases? We'll have a town hall conversation about cap and trade with a fervent skeptic, a true believer and you.

Location: SF Club Office
Time: 6 p.m. program, 7 p.m. wine and cheese networking reception
Cost: $12 members, $20 non-members, students free (with valid ID)
Also know: Please note the speakers and audience will be videotaped for future broadcast on the Climate One TV show on KRCB TV 22 on Comcast and DirecTV.