The Harvard Environmental Economics Program (HEEP) released, on January 31, a policy brief based in large part on a research workshop and policy roundtable held May 19-20, 2011, “The SO₂ Allowance Trading System and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990: Reflections on Twenty Years of Policy Innovation.” The workshop and roundtable, as well as the preparation of the policy brief, were supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Participants in the workshop and roundtable included virtually all of the scholars who had conducted significant research on the design and effectiveness of the SO₂ allowance-trading program. A number of the principal participants in the political process leading to the passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, from the White House, executive-branch agencies, and Congress, were also present. All participants are listed on the inside-back cover of the policy brief.

To read the brief, click here.

This report was referenced in the February 13, 2012, Forbes article, "Cap and Trade Curbed Acid Rain: 7 Reasons Why It Can Do The Same For Climate Change" by Justin Gerdes.

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