Obama Urges Cap-and-Trade Legislation

President Obama urged Congress Tuesday night to pass legislation to implement a cap-and-trade program to regulate carbon pollution in the United States, Agence France-Presse reported.

Acknowledging the Bush administration's reluctance to tackle the issue of climate change, Obama asked lawmakers to approve legislation “that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution,” he said to a joint session of Congress.

In a cap-and-trade system, the federal government would provide incentives for companies to decrease their carbon outputs. Companies would then be able to sell their excess carbon allowance to other companies who exceed their allowances.

American Trucking Associations has spoken out against any cap-and-trade system that would extend to mobile sources of carbon, such as trucks.