Cap and Trade: One Solution to Climate Change The threat of climate change in recent years is recognized as a real and potentially catastrophic threat to the health and welfare of our planet, as industrialized nations continue to run their economies by burning carbon into the atmosphere. Recently, it has taken on a larger role in our national media, the public, and the government, as the effects of anthropogenic climate change become more evident. In the United States, for example, the year 2007 brought the first major piece of legislation in the country to address the problem under the Climate Security Act, and the United States Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had authority to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant. Today, many politicians, economists, scientists, and environmentalists propose a solution that would create a regulated market based on emissions into the atmosphere, effectively internalizing all negative externalities. It’s called cap and trade, and it has a lot of potential to help incentivize the implementation of alternative forms of energy, has several different variations and alternatives, and has already been successful in many programs around the world. Implications of Cap and Trade The “cap” of cap and trade is when government enforces a cap on emissions, which gradually gets smaller over time. The “trade” of cap and trade is enabling the free market to trade emissions permits, which can either be earned, bought, or given away. In order to reduce pollution, the government sets a cap on emissions and creates allowances to level off the cap. Sources are then free to buy, sell, or bank the allowances to use in future years. They can buy emissions credits when they need mor... ... middle of paper ... ...Complete Guide to Climate Change. Oxon, UK: Routledge, 2009. Print. James, Tom, and Peter Fusaro. Energy and Emissions Markets: Collision or Convergence? Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc, 2006. Print. Labatt, Sonia, and Rodney R. White. Carbon Finance: The Financial Implications of Climate Change. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2007. Print. Murray, Iain. “Cap and Trade: A System Made for Fraudsters.” Cases in Environmental Politics. Ed. Norman Miller. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009. Print. Stern, Nicholas. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. Print. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) . "Tools of the Trade: A Guide to Designing and Operating a Cap and Trade Program for Pollution Control." (2003): Web. 24 Apr 2010. .
6. Scheueneman, Tom. "A Carbon Tax is More Viable than Cap and Trade." RSS. 26 July 2012. The Energy Collective. 11 Mar. 2014 .
The characteristics stated above of Cap and Trade makes it one of the most efficient environmental policies to combat climate change so far. The following substantiates will clear deliver the policy’s cornerstones.
...i, X., . . . Johnson, C. A. (Eds.). (2001). Climate change 2001: The scientific basis : contribution of Working Group I to the third assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.
...aswan, A. (2011). Reconciling justice and efficiency: integrating environmental justice into domestice cap-and-trade programs for controlling greenhouse gases. In A. Denis (Ed.), Ethics and Global Climate Change. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Global Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Lord Stern and his associate, Dr. Simon Dietz, distributed examination in The Economic Journal, which cautions that the money related harm created by an unnatural weather change will be extensively more prominent than current models anticipate.
Climate change, never has such an impending natural disaster been so heavily ignored. While this problem of Greenhouse Gasses holds more long-term implications than any other problem found today, little to nothing has been done to address this problem. Through the last century, industrialization has revolutionized the world, in all aspects of life from comfort to industry. While this has obviously had its benefits, it has also created a world that is almost entirely dependent on carbon dioxide producing technology. This has caused the single biggest problem when it comes to curbing this issue known as climate change. That problem is the simple fact that in order for the people to make a positive unified change in the C02 levels they produce, they’re going to have to make sacrifices. These sacrifices range from giving up or reducing their use of various CO2 producing technologies, to paying new taxes such as carbon taxes. The causes for Climate Change and the lack of action to curb it are, of course, complex, but there are at least three significant factors: High prices required to produce and implement low-carbon technology; lack of political and corporate support; and an extensive public reliance on technology (Weeks). More than this, the public, along with the government, have been unwilling to sacrifice either money or effort, which has only served to exponentially increase the problem at hand.
Ratnatunga, J., Balach & Ran, K. (2009). Carbon business accounting: the impact of global warming on the cost and management accounting profession. Journal of Accounting, Auditing & Finance, 24 (2), 333--355.
Richard, T. (2009). The Economic Effects of Climate Change. Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 26(2), 29-56.
One of the most compelling and difficult environmental problems society is facing today is climate change. People do not realize how much the environment has changed for the worse in the last ten years, until they are told that the last two decades of the 20th century have been the hottest in the last 400 years, according to climate studies (Conserve Energy Future). Today the carbon dioxide levels have reached 396.81 parts per million (ppm). “Carbon dioxide (CO2) has also increased over the last 100 years-- from about 300 ppm to 370 ppm. Interestingly, the majority of these additions have occurred in the last 50 years, when temperature increases have been slowest” (geocraft). There are no known solutions yet to reverse these effects in the environment, however there are many things people can do to prevent it from increasing. By implementing a carbon tax the government can tax corporations on how much carbon they emit into the atmosphere. With the extra money from the tax, scientist can invest in alternative ways to reduce how much carbon is emitted. Reducing climate change is going to take years and so nothing is going to get fixed anytime soon, but meanwhile we can use that extra money to begin cleaning up the atmosphere. There are many ways to explain climate change, some say its due to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, others say it is the burning of the fossils fuels, some even say it’s the greenhouse gases. All of these sayings mean the exact same thing, no matter how one says it. I believe there are more convenient ways to solve climate change; and if the government would to implement a carbon tax on companies they will then be forced to re-evaluate all the carbon they emit to the environment and red...
Pollution has always been a relevant issue in todays society and even worldwide. Some believe it ‘s natural and some believe its man made. The fact is that both are true but with today’s technology growing at such an alarming pace emissions have increased at an unnatural rate and this is what’s causing global warming to worsen. Because of this there’s only so much that environmentally friendly organizations/ advocates can do to contribute to the reduction of pollution. It’s a losing battle because they cannot keep up with the amount of pollution being emitted. But a new idea has ben introduced by the EDF (Environmental Defense Fund) called “Cap-and Trade”. This new program is believed
Global warming is still a major issue in world and U.S. politics. Conservatives argue for more market-orientated solutions, resulting in the imposition of taxes, resulting in higher prices for environment polluting goods. Liberals on the other hand advocate stiffer industry regulation and more direct controls. Any action taken, whatever the ideology, can only help to solve an increasing problem but at what cost to the consumer?
H. Brauch. 'Securitizing Climate Change'. Presented at the 50th ISA annual Convention, New York Marriot Marquis, New York, USA, 15 February 2009. p. 9
Ackerman, Frank, and Elizabeth A. Station. “The cost of Climate Change: What We’ll Pay if Global Warming Continues Unchecked.” nrdc.org. Natural Resources Defense Council, May 2008. Web. 26 April 2014.
Government Intervention is primarily necessary in matters that impact society on a large scale, and with the forthcoming issue of Climate Change, multiple debates and arguments from various people and sources from around the world have stimulated government intervention on a global scale. Market failure has been heavily described as one of the major facets of climate change, providing a strong platform for government intervention as it is necessary to combat the so called ‘Stock flow’ problem associated with Climate Change.
Schulz, Kathryn. ?Global Warming Right Now.? Rolling Stone 20 Feb. 2003: Iss.916 Academic Search Premier. EBSCO