City unveils carbon tax plan

[jpak]

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1194497715108680.xml&coll=7

CHICAGO -- In a bold move to curb the growth of greenhouse gas emissions from the Portland area, city officials plan to charge builders hundreds of dollars for each new home that is not extremely energy efficient. And it would require, as part of every existing home sale, that an energy efficiency report be done by home inspectors.

Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the carbon fee and inspection requirement would levy taxes upon builders who merely comply with the energy efficiency requirements of the Oregon building code, already one of the most stringent in the nation. It would then pay cash rewards to developers who make buildings that save at least 45 percent more energy than the code requires.

The plan will go before Portland residents, in hearings, in January. With passage, the carbon-fee rules would be in place by 2010.

Builders in Portland on Wednesday were already pushing back.

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