California to finalise carbon trading plan

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is reportedly ready to release the final version of the rules, confirming that the state’s carbon-intensive companies will have to report on their emissions from January onwards, according to businessGreen.

The full launch of the scheme is expected at the start of 2013 as participants will need to comply with binding emissions caps and purchase additional carbon allowances if they exceed those caps. Regulators have set a relatively demanding emissions cap as well as tight limits on carbon offsets, thus hoping to have an early impact on carbon-intensive companies as carbon prices impact on operating costs.

The California scheme is the second US cap-and-trade programme along the voluntary Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which covers a group of north-eastern states. The plan is seen as a milestone for the global carbon market.