'Cash For Clunkers' Program Is Expensive Way To Cut Carbon Emissions, Expert Argues
ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2009) — New UC Davis estimates say the federal government's "Cash for Clunkers" program is paying at least 10 times the "sticker price" to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
While carbon credits are projected to sell in the U.S. for about $28 per ton (today's price in Europe was $20), even the best-case calculation of the cost of the clunkers rebate is $237 per ton, said UC Davis transportation economist Christopher Knittel.
"When burned, a gallon of gasoline creates roughly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. I combined that known value with an average rebate of $4,200 and a range of assumptions about the fuel economy of the new vehicles purchased and how long the clunkers would have been on the road if not for the program,"
"In the end, the lowest cost to remove one ton of carbon from the environment was $237. More likely scenarios produced a cost of more than $500 per ton, even when we accounted for reductions in pollutants other than greenhouse gases. That suggests the Cash for Clunkers program is an expensive way to reduce carbon." On the web: University of California Energy Institute
