The Environmental Marketplace
Global warming has achieved worldwide acceptance and is recognized as a serious worldwide problem:
•
Market-based policies/regulation to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases
•
Regulation creates markets.
•
Under the Kyoto agreement (and even alongside it) a number of carbon reduction and trading schemes have been established
•
GHG’s will be the world's biggest commodity market, and may become the world's biggest market over all. – NY Times
Cap and Trade
•
Governments set emissions caps, and companies that beat them can trade their pollution credits to others willing to pay to pollute.
•
Over time, the caps are lowered, making it costlier to choose to keep polluting
•
Has been successfully used to mitigate Acid Rain and Ozone depletion (SO2/NOx)
The new Environmental Commodities include:
•
Carbon Emission Reduction Credits & Allowances (Offset credits)
•
Renewable Energy Certificates
•
Energy Efficiency & Conservation Certificates
38 countries faced reduction/limitation commitments - overall reduction of 5.2% from 1990 emission levels
Commitments correspond to a GHG reduction of 30%- 40% below “business as usual forecasts” over period 2008 – 2012
U.S. has not ratified and is engaged in voluntary market and state/regional-level activities at this time:
Kyoto Parties also agreed to the notion of “successive commitment periods” but have not agreed on reduction targets:
>>For further information please Contact Us
