Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Cap and Trade


“Always rise from the table with an appetite, and you will never sit down without one.” --  Horace Greeley quotes (American newspaper Editor, 1811-1872)

Our insatiable appetite for electricity results in polluted air.  Cleaning our air isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap.

Cap and trade is an environmental policy tool designed to nudge us along the path to cleaner air. Successful cap and trade programs reward innovation, efficiency, and early action and provide strict environmental accountability without inhibiting economic growth.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides some very useful pages related to clean air markets on its website.  Here are a few of them …

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EPA Clean Air Markets
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/

EPA CAMD Business System
The CAMD Business System (CBS) is an interactive application that allows sources to perform various tasks online. Sources can use CBS to submit Certificate of Representation data, such as, add/edit facility or unit data; add/edit Designated Representatives, owners/operators, contacts, or Agents (see 'What are Agents?' section below); transfer allowances; and perform annual compliance tasks.
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/business/industry/index.html

EPA Acid Rain Program
The overall goal of the Acid Rain Program is to achieve significant environmental and public health benefits through reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)—the primary causes of acid rain. To achieve this goal at the lowest cost to society, the program employs both traditional and innovative, market-based approaches for controlling air pollution. In addition, the program encourages energy efficiency and pollution prevention.
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/progsregs/arp/index.html

EPA Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)
On March 10, 2005, EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR). This rule provides states with a solution to the problem of power plant pollution that drifts from one state to another. CAIR covers 27 eastern states and the District of Columbia. The rule uses a cap and trade system to reduce the target pollutants—sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)—by 70 percent.
http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/progsregs/cair/index.html

EPA Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)
On July 6, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule that protects the health of millions of Americans by helping states reduce air pollution and attain clean air standards. This rule, known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requires states to significantly improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states
http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/

EPA Cap and Trade
Cap and trade is an environmental policy tool that delivers results with a mandatory cap on emissions while providing sources flexibility in how they comply. Successful cap and trade programs reward innovation, efficiency, and early action and provide strict environmental accountability without inhibiting economic growth.
http://www.epa.gov/captrade/

EPA Air Markets Program Data
The Air Markets Program Data tool allows users to search EPA data to answer scientific, general, policy, and regulatory questions about industry emissions.
http://ampd.epa.gov/ampd/QueryToolie.html
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