Do Emissions Credit Trading Programs Work?

Nov. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- Phoenix, AZ, – Sales of emission credits could reach $83 billion by 2019, according to the report GHG Emissions Credit Trading. The 2010 U.S. federal budget allocates $15 billion a year to support clean energy, generated from the sale of emissions credits.

An emissions trading system places a cap on carbon emissions from power plants and other industrial sites, and then facilities that are able to achieve lower emissions than they are allotted, are able to sell their remaining credits on an exchange. Other facilities that have not yet achieved emissions reductions targets can purchase the credits as a means of achieving their goals.

Speaking at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu reinforced the importance of acting quickly, noting that a cap-and-trade system “will provide the framework for transforming our energy system to make our economy less carbon-intensive, and less dependent on foreign oil.”

As an environmental policy, emissions trading is not without precedent. Other successful cap and trade programs have been implemented, including a national acid rain program, and a regional nitrogen oxide budget trading program in the Northeastern United States. The Acid Rain Program has had positive results, with significant reductions in both SO2 and NO.  It is estimated that the sale of emissions credits proceeds would bring in $78.7 billion in 2012, ramping up to reach $83 billion by 2019.

The 207-page GHG Emissions Credit Trading report explains how emissions credit trading functions, examines emissions credit trading monitoring, and the effects of the Kyoto Protocol.

More details on the “GHG Emissions Credit Trading” report can be found at http://EnergyBusinessReports.com/shop/GHG-Emissions-Credi...

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