You don't have to be Al Gore to be concerned about carbon pollution's effect on our Earth. Scientists and world leaders are constantly considering new ways to reduce emissions, and some have proposed a process known as carbon trading, where companies are given carbon credits that they can either use for their own emission needs or sell to bigger polluters who need more credits. Is this the remedy for our ailing environment, or just a lot of hot air?
Carbon trading -- also known as cap-and-trade -- protects the environment by setting a total cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
The world's leading scientists believe we have to cap US greenhouse gas emissions at a level that is 50-80% below current emissions by the year 2050 in order to prevent the worst damage from climate change. The first part of cap-and-trade – "the cap" -- does this. A cap sets a total limit on all emissions from covered sectors -- which, depending on how the program is designed, can be nearly the entire economy.
A cap requires "an allowance" in order to emit greenhouse gases. Typically, one allowance allows the emission of 1 metric ton of carbon dioxide or equivalent. Since the government only makes available a limited number of allowances, and since it is illegal for a covered sector or industry to emit greenhouse gases without an allowance, the total number of emissions is strictly controlled. A well-designed cap-and-trade system includes steep penalties for any covered entity emitting greenhouse gases without an allowance -- therefore providing an effective means of keeping emissions below a safe level.
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