FreedomWorks Foundation Content

Arizona Quits Cap and Trade Program, Utah Slams EPA

The New York Times reported yesterday that Arizona is pulling out of a cap and trade program called the Western Climate Initiative that includes seven western states and four Canadian provinces. 

Citing financial worries, the State of Arizona has backed out of a broad regional effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the West through a cap-and-trade system.

In an executive order issued last week, Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, said a cap-and-trade system — which would impose mandatory caps on emissions and allow pollution credits to be traded among companies — would cripple Arizona’s economy.

Arizona now joins California in having second-thoughts about cap and trade.  Could Utah be next?  Heritage has the story here.

Utah’s House Legislature joined Alaska Sen. Murkowski in urging the EPA to hold it’s plans to regulate greenhouse gases under last year’s endangerment finding. 

Specifically, the resolution “urges the United States Environmental Protection Agency to halt its carbon dioxide reduction policies and programs and with its “Endangerment Finding” and related regulations until a full and independent investigation of the climate data conspiracy and global warming science can be substantiated.

Most state representatives are not only questioning the scientific consensus but also the economic implications of cap and trade or similar carbon dioxide regulations. “I’m afraid of what could happen to our economy, to our rural life, to our agriculture, if such a detrimental policy continues to be pursued for political reasons,” said Rep. Kerry Gibson.