Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
You're confusing the ZEV credits with a vehicle rebate program. Those are separate issues. The ZEV credits are not a subsidy. This is a public policy supporting emissions controls in California, a place with serious air quality problems in several regions of the state. The credits do not represent tax money. They are a form of crediting the production of low-emissions vehicles so that automakers will have an incentive to build them. The incentive is to industry, not consumers. Tesla is making money off the credits by selling them to other automakers. Public funds are not involved.
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I don't believe I had any confusion, as what you have stated is my understanding. CAFE sets a cap on allowable CO2 emissions that any given company (or is it vehicle class?) can emit, and they can buy their way into exceeding these caps by trading with other companies, or by creating their own useless "compliance" vehicles.
My point remains; someone has to pay for this. That someone is always, 100% of the time, consumers. While the cap on CO2 may have been well intentioned, in the end, it will do absolutely nothing for the environment, some people in bed with the politicians will effortlessly become rich, and the consumer will be stuck holding the bill (via inflated vehicle pricing).
CO2 as a pollutant is not a localized problem to CA. I have never heard of a report suggesting health has been affected in CA due to CO2 level rise, or that crops have been failing due to localized CO2 levels.
If CO2 production is a serious enough concern, then it's a global concern requiring a global effort and global enforcement, with every nation regardless of size or status to participate equally. Failing this, there is no point in local regulation except to make a few rich, and many people poorer.