Six Ways to Rate Cap & Trade

Foreign Affaris, the September October  2009 Edition, has several great climat related articles,
but one by Joel Kurtzman that makes the Journal purchase worthwhile: "The Low-Carbon Diet, How the Market Can Curb Climate Change". Here is an August Excerpt of the article published by the Milkin Institute.

He provides an excellent review of  the history of Cap and Trade Programs, and believes that a Green House Gas Cap & Trade Program is on the way here in the US.

He concludes with six design features that must be part of a successfull Cap and Trade System:

1. Firmly set long term emission caps that place an unambiguous limit on the amount of carbon dixoide  to be released over the long haul.
2. Permits must be allocated to emitters, ideally free to start.
3. Offset provisions that allow alternative ways of removing carbon from the atmosphere
4. Emitters should be allowed to "bank" their permits so they can use them in the future
5. All Emission activities must be professionally audited to insure that a ton of carbon is really a ton of carbon.
6. Regulators must refrain from setting a minimum or maxiumum price for emissions and must allow  the market to set its own

The Rest @ Foregin Affairs

Whether the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 passes or not, The EPA is gettirg ready to publish in final form the reule they first published in draft  in 40 CFR Part 98, The Mandatory Reporting of Green House Gas, which will require the reporting GHG emissions in a variety of new business sectors.

After more and more emission data is gathered, wwe can count o n the EPA using the data to update the National Green House Gas Inventory, which will add weight to another push for Cap & Trade

In conclusion, lets get our GHG inventories ready, we will have to know what they are as a starting point, whether we have thought about emissions before or not.

-Editor