Emission Trading for Small Businesses

摘要

In recent years, states, regional associations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have greatly increased their interest and activity regarding emission trading. Emissions trading is an economic incentive-based alternative to command-and-control regulation. In an emissions trading program, sources of a particular pollutant (most often an air pollutant) are given permits to release a specified number of tons of the pollutant. A government or trading agency issues only a limited number of permits consistent with the desired level of emissions. The owners of the permits may keep them and release the pollutants, or reduce their emissions and sell the permits. The fact that the permits have value as an item to be sold or traded gives the owner an incentive to reduce their emissions. When applied properly, emission trading is an economic incentive that can reduce the aggregate cost of meeting local or regional air quality standards, while providing less bureaucratic intrusion into the operation of individual businesses. It also provides greater flexibility in meeting production goals and emission reduction requirements. Approximately thirty emission trading programs currently exist or are being developed. Our study began with a list, developed by the Sierra Club in 1994, of twenty-nine such programs.