$140,000,000,000. That’s how much the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates it will cost the United States to combat global climate change every year. That’s also about what the US spends per year in Iraq. Juliette Jowit and Patrick Wintour reported that Lord Stern, a leading expert on the climate crisis, now estimates it could cost twice that. Now, of course saving the planet is worth the price. Indeed, it’s even a bargain. If we don’t act, Jowit and Wintour report that we could suffer damages totaling
$720 billion to $2.8 trillion per year.
Where did that $140 billion figure come from? The IPCC assumes the US will reduce its carbon emissions by implementing a flexible, efficient cap-and-trade system. Without cap-and-trade, the price tag would certainly be much higher. To see how much higher, let’s take a quick gander at the world’s first large-scale, cap-and-trade system. In the early 1990’s, the US instituted a
cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide to control acid rain. The program was estimated to cost between $3 and $25 billion per year. After the first 2 years, cap-and-trade proved to be much more efficient than expected and the price tag was a mere $800 million per year. That’s 4 to 31 times cheaper than expected. Cap-and-trade was the way to go.
So how does Carbonfund.org fit into all of this? Carbonfund.org is part of the voluntary carbon market in the United States. Since there is no mandatory market for carbon in the US like there is in Europe, concerned individuals and businesses have been forced to come up with their own solutions to global climate change. The voluntary market allows market forces to eliminate carbon where it is cheapest to do so, thus allowing climate change action to get the most bang for its buck.
The voluntary market resembles a cap-and-trade system. In the voluntary market, there are units of carbon that are openly traded among market participants. These units represent tons of carbon that are eliminated through a variety of projects – reforestation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reductions below a cap set by the Chicago Climate Exchange.
There are many benefits to this approach. First, it is the cheapest way we know to reduce carbon emissions. That efficiency was the driving force behind the passage of the sulfur dioxide cap-and-trade system. Efficiency drives down the cost society must face to solve the climate crisis. That is essential when building a coalition to support environmental initiatives.
Second, using a market-based approach to help solve our climate problem can lead to long-term economic benefits. Many of the projects the voluntary market supports create jobs – now called “green” jobs. These include anything from engineers on a wind farm to foresters planting trees in Louisiana. In fact, one of the
project certifications, the CCB standards (Climate, Community, and Biodiversity), requires a net positive impact on the local communities where projects exist. Thus, in the current economic crisis, where creating new jobs is imperative– investing in the voluntary market should be part of the cure.
Carbonfund.org makes it easy and affordable for any individual or business to reduce and offset their carbon footprint. www.carbonfund.org
Where did that $140 billion figure come from? The IPCC assumes the US will reduce its carbon emissions by implementing a flexible, efficient cap-and-trade system. Without cap-and-trade, the price tag would certainly be much higher. To see how much higher, let’s take a quick gander at the world’s first large-scale, cap-and-trade system. In the early 1990’s, the US instituted a cap-and-trade system for sulfur dioxide to control acid rain. The program was estimated to cost between $3 and $25 billion per year. After the first 2 years, cap-and-trade proved to be much more efficient than expected and the price tag was a mere $800 million per year. That’s 4 to 31 times cheaper than expected. Cap-and-trade was the way to go.
So how does Carbonfund.org fit into all of this? Carbonfund.org is part of the voluntary carbon market in the United States. Since there is no mandatory market for carbon in the US like there is in Europe, concerned individuals and businesses have been forced to come up with their own solutions to global climate change. The voluntary market allows market forces to eliminate carbon where it is cheapest to do so, thus allowing climate change action to get the most bang for its buck.
The voluntary market resembles a cap-and-trade system. In the voluntary market, there are units of carbon that are openly traded among market participants. These units represent tons of carbon that are eliminated through a variety of projects – reforestation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reductions below a cap set by the Chicago Climate Exchange.
There are many benefits to this approach. First, it is the cheapest way we know to reduce carbon emissions. That efficiency was the driving force behind the passage of the sulfur dioxide cap-and-trade system. Efficiency drives down the cost society must face to solve the climate crisis. That is essential when building a coalition to support environmental initiatives.
Second, using a market-based approach to help solve our climate problem can lead to long-term economic benefits. Many of the projects the voluntary market supports create jobs – now called “green” jobs. These include anything from engineers on a wind farm to foresters planting trees in Louisiana. In fact, one of the project certifications, the CCB standards (Climate, Community, and Biodiversity), requires a net positive impact on the local communities where projects exist. Thus, in the current economic crisis, where creating new jobs is imperative– investing in the voluntary market should be part of the cure.