Carbon price falls in RGGI’s 4th auction [climate fraud nets another $104 million in cold hard cash]

NEW YORK – The price of a permit to emit one ton of carbon in the Northeast states’ regional cap-and-trade program fell by 8 percent in the program’s third auction, which was held earlier this week, administrators said today.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) said it sold all of the nearly 31 million permits for carbon emitted in 2009-2011 that were up for auction at a clearing price of $3.23 per permit. The electronic auction was held on Wednesday.

That was down from the price of $3.51 each that the permits fetched in the previous auction last March, but the number of separate entities placing bids rose to 54, compared with 50 in March.

The auction raised $104.2 million for energy efficiency, renewable energy and other programs in the 10 participating states, which include Rhode Island, according to RGGI Inc., which administers the program on the states’ behalf.

Christopher Sands (sandsathudson) on Twitter

Butterfield [D-NC, defending Waxman-Markey] gave few arguments on provisions of the bill; instead, he harangued us that we must adjust to his views on climate change...

Critical Biomass - washingtonpost.com

Can Congress avoid a renewable-energy boondoggle?
...
Nevertheless, Congress must ensure that it does not give biomass suppliers incentives to produce a fuel that is barely better -- or that is perhaps worse -- than fossil fuels.