Sources of air pollution who succeed in reducing their emissions may receive credit for their reductions. Emission reduction credits (ERCs) reward those who take action to reduce their pollutant emissions and therefore encourage pollution reduction. Credits for emission reductions provide an incentive to find the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions. Once an emission reduction credit is created, it can be sold on the open market.
American industry claims that pollution control efforts significantly reduce productivity by increasing their costs. Yet some experts say that controlling pollution can actually pay for itself through what are called "innovation offsets."
Proponents of this idea, such as Michael E. Porter of Harvard University, say current pollution controls have prodded firms to become more efficient and invest in research and development that creates new technologies. As a result, U.S. manufacturers may actually enjoy a competitive advantage over foreign industries that haven't been forced to innovate. The same could be true for measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that may be causing global warming.
Whether innovation can offset the cost of new pollution controls is important to consideration of the global warming treaty.
Annual spending on pollution abatement and control in the U.S. rose from under $40 billion in 1978 to an estimated $110 billion in 1993, in current dollars -- according to government figures. Porter claims innovation offsets have sometimes actually reduced costs. For example, he says that when U.S. law forced firms to get rid of chlorofluorocarbons used to clean printed electronic circuit boards, Raytheon developed a reusable cleaning agent that increased average product quality as well as lowering operating costs.
However researchers at 'Resources for the Future' spoke to the managers of some of the firms cited by Porter. They found that while "each manager acknowledged that in certain instances a particular regulatory requirement may have cost less than had been expected, or perhaps even paid for itself, each also said that ...on the whole, environmental regulation amounted to a significant net cost to his company."
They estimate that innovation offsets total less than 2 percent of what firms spend complying with environmental rules.
Some projects are currently provided in collaboration with Climate Care, a world leader in the provision of sustainable offsets. These projects either use technologies that reduce emissions at source or remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by investing in reforestation. Our technology projects invest in renewable energy or in energy efficiency.These projects not only remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, they also enhance ecosystems and provide wider benefits to the people living around them.
There has been a lot of debate about whether reforestation projects should allowed as carbon offsets (The Guardian, 2004). Our approach is to support the development of a new Gold Standard for offsets, which excludes most forestry projects. Led by WWF, this approach has been completed for large scale Clean Development Mechanism projects. A revised version of the Gold Standard is currently under development for smaller projects and we are committed to using this as the benchmark for all new offsets.
Environment Canada believes in harnessing the power of the market to integrate climate change considerations into the day-to-day decisions of Canadians, which is why we are proud to be a part of the Offsetters.ca project. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions also benefits the planet and its people by reducing other pollutants which means cleaner air and better quality of life and health for all of us. Support has been provided for this project from the International Airshed Strategy and from the Climate Change Division of Pacific & Yukon Region.
To help fight pollution in your community go to www.preferredenergy.us to find Fuel Saving Devices and Energy Cost Reduction Units for the home...