Full Title: A Market-Based Fix for the Federal Coal Program
Author(s): Mary Ellen Kustin
Publisher(s): Center for American Progress
Publication Date: October 1, 2016
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
This issue brief proposes a structural reform that would help the federal coal program meet U.S. climate and energy goals, support economic transition in coal-dependent communities, and be more likely to survive political and legal challenge. Specifically, CAP is proposing a credit auction that would restore competition to the federal coal program by allowing eligible companies to bid on a pool of carbon credits that will give them the right to mine a certain volume of coal on federal lands. The amount of carbon credits the federal government sells would be determined through a five-year public planning process that would be modeled on the federal government’s offshore oil and gas program. Over time, the amount of credits offered at auction to exceed 3 Center for American Progress | A Market-Based Fix for the Federal Coal Program minimum bids set by regulation—either as is currently stated in the federal regulation on fair market value and maximum economic recovery for the federal coal leasing program, 43 C.F.R. § 3422.1(c)(2), or updated through the public process—would be reduced and likely phased out to meet U.S. climate goals. This reformed coal leasing system would give states with federal coal resources additional time and resources to diversify their economies during the nation’s shift toward cleaner, more abundant renewable energy supplies.