http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/14/news/economy/climate_change_bill.fortune/?postversion=2008051507

The battle over who should receive profits made from the proposed climate change bill, S.2191 the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, is ramping up and dozens of Fortune 500 companies, environmental groups, and leading figures from both parties in Congress. All argue that they know the best way to handle the profits.

Coal-burning utilities say they should be given the permits for free - otherwise, they argue, their customers will be whacked with much higher bills. Others, including candidates Obama and Clinton, say all the permits should be auctioned - why reward the polluters, they ask? Still others want auctions so that proceeds can be used for a variety of causes, ranging from investments in renewable-energy research to middle-class tax cuts to paying down the federal debt.

Environmental groups, meanwhile, worry that the fight over free allocations versus auctions threatens to get in the way of the most important part of the legislation - enacting strong emissions caps. "What we care most about," says Nat Keohane of the Environmental Defense Fund, "is establishing strong and declining mandatory caps that get us the emissions targets that scientists say we need."

The new cap-and-trade bill is expected to generate up to $150 billion in profits. Higher food and electrical prices are all being evaluated before deciding on the beneficiaries of the expected profit.

CNN; May 15, 2008

Submitted by M. Lamarre