The climate bill introduced into the U.S. Senate last month by John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would cost households an average of $79 to $146 per year through 2050, according to an economic analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The American Power Act would put a cap on carbon emissions and set up an emissions trading market for utilities and other major industrial polluters to buy, sell and trade permits. Over time, the cap would be lowered, forcing companies to look for cost effective ways to reduce their carbon emissions or offset them by purchasing carbon credits that correspond to emission reductions in another sector.

Reprinted with permission from Ecopolitology