How do you raise taxes without raising taxes? Just call it something else. "Cap and Trade" is being touted as a means of "encouraging" the transition to fuels that don't emit carbon. In fact, it is simply another government boondoggle that will increases taxes while failing to properly address the root problem. And in any form, it's extortion.
The worst offender is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, its Kyoto Protocol and its future plans. The UN framework calls for industrialized countries to literally pay billions of dollars to developing nations for climate-relates studies and projects. Additionally, some industrialized countries may be forced to purchase "carbon credits" from the same developing nations to whom they are already paying tribute.
It stands to reason that if a financial penalty is attached to excessive consumption of fossil fuels, businesses and consumers alike will attempt to increase use of alternate energy sources. The problem in this program is a lack of competitively priced, readily available alternate fuels. Regardless of the reason, if it's not feasible to switch to a different fuel source, you have no choice but to pay an imposed premium on the energy you consume.
There's no question that the United States and other developed countries should reduce dependency on fossil fuels in general, and foreign fuels in particular. However, the transition should be orderly and should impose neither economic hardships nor the payment of ransom. It appears that the United Nations has become the Somali pirates of carbon.