Suppose the United States has two utilities, Commonweath Utilities and Consolidated Electric. Both produce 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide pollution per year. However, the marginal cost of reducing a ton of pollution for Consolidated Electric is $250 per ton and the marginal cost of reducing a ton of pollution for Commonwealth Utilities is $275 per ton. The government's goal is to cut sulfur dioxide pollution in half (by 20 million tons per year). If the government issues 10 million tradable pollution permits to each utility, what will be the cost of eliminating half of the pollution to society? Using a cap-and-tradeLOADING... system of tradable emission allowances will eliminate half of the sulfur dioxide pollution at a cost of $nothing million per year.

The incomplete part of the question is "Using a cap-and-trade system of tradable emission allowances will eliminate half of the sulfur dioxide pollution at a cost of $1 million per year. If the permits are not tradable, what will be the cost of eliminating half of the pollution? If permits cannot be traded, then the cost of the pollution reduction will be $1 million per year." The full question is attched as picture as well

1) Tradable permit system

Then lower MAC firm will abate the all pollution units

Then as MAC1 = $250, MAC2 = $275

Firm 1 = Consolidated electric

Firm 2 = Commonwealth utility

Then 1 will sell all permits to 2, at a price between $250 & $275.

So total cost of abatement of 20 units = MAC1 * 20

= $250 * 20 Unit

= $5,000

2) Non-tradable permits

Total cost = MC1*10 + MC2*10

= $2,500 + $2,750

= $5,250