# We Can Stop Global Warming without Hurting the Poor

*Published:* 2007-10-18
*Author:* Elizabeth Thompson

*This post is by [Elizabeth Thompson](http://www.environmentaldefense.org/page.cfm?tagID=982), Legislative Director at Environmental Defense.*

The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) just issued an [analysis](http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/climate.htm) that says we don’t have to choose between solving the global warming crisis and protecting the lowest-income Americans. We can do both through a well-designed cap-and-trade system.

According to CBPP, just 14 percent of the revenue from auctioning emissions allowances would be sufficient to shield vulnerable households and address the needs of the poor. We can have a strong climate policy and still afford to protect the most vulnerable among us. This insight is an important contribution to the global warming debate.

Still, we shouldn’t lose sight of something this analysis doesn’t consider – namely, the enormous impact climate change could have on the poor if we [fail to act](https://blogs.edf.org/climate411/2007/10/17/cost_of_inaction/).