CNN.com asks Michael Gillenwater about Carbon Trading
Will carbon trading work?
December 14, 2009 11:41 p.m. EST – From CNN.com
(CNN) — Carbon trading — with its mix of free-market principles and government regulation — holds global appeal as a way for businesses to reduce emissions. But lack of a global market for carbon trade and questions over surveillance and accounting for pollution offsets raises questions about its viability.
The factors complicating accurate carbon-trading reportage begins with the “product” — in this case the absence of an invisible gas. Adding to the intangibility is the crediting of businesses for projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Read the article in its entirety – http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/12/14/carbon.trading.explainer/
Carbon trading is not a solution for saving earth due to climate change. This will just gain revenue but not green technology.
There should be strict cap for each country on the basis of ton of carbon emitted and not on the carbon emission per capita. The credits for reduction in GHG emission should be much higher than for carbon trading so that people should opt reduction of GHG emission by investing in reasearch and development of new clean technologies and such projects rather than carbon trading.
Developed nations should come forward to help themselves as well as the developing neations by supplying new green technologies and implementation of such projects. This will only save our earth.
Everybody should stick to Kyoto protocol to reduce the emission levels below the benchmark year.
Carbon trading makes sense, because it encourages reductions to be made where they are most cost effective. A ton saved is a ton saved. If it’s easy to save a ton in an agricultural project why not give an incentive for that by allowing that ton to be paid for by another industry where saving a ton may be more expensive or more difficult. The key part here is the cap. The cap establishes the limit, the trade allows the burden of meeting that limit to be achieved in a cost effective way.