A well designed framework to reduce emissions | Part 1 - Quality Credits

In this series we will look at what is really necessary to have a successful Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) . The ETS has been the focus of a lot of negative press recently. However, it is not the ETS which is the problem. Like any solution it is the design which is important. What credits are included, who is directly included (those that must comply), the targets and the timing are all key issues.

In Part 1 we will look at a key area of a well designed ETS - the quality of the credits included in the scheme.

This is probably the most important area of design. What we must ensure is that the quality of emissions reduction remains high. How do you measure carbon emission quality? Let's have a look...

When it comes to carbon credits, quality can be determined by the ability to demonstrate that the resulting reduction of carbon emissions is genuine, that is, it must be verifiable, measurable and additional.

Carbon credits in a compliance-regulated Emissions Trading Scheme offer emissions reduction that is robust and verifiable. The credits are easily measured and make additional cuts in emissions beyond agreed targets. Buying and cancelling credits ensures the carbon dioxide they represent will never be emitted.

This is proactive carbon emissions reduction – the emissions never occur. As opposed to projects that sequester carbon dioxide – which are reactive because the carbon has already been released.

At the same time your efforts help drive investment in low-carbon solutions because there are fewer credits available. In the long run, it helps ensure low-carbon solutions become more economically attractive – the only way to a sustainable future.

Support a framework to reduce emissions!

The more people that join Climakind the greater the influence we have to ensure the Government implements a well designed ETS in February 2010.

• Show your support for a framework to reduce pollution
• Strengthen the impact of the ETS to reduce carbon emissions
• Make meaningful cuts in carbon emissions

As John Connor chief executive of the Climate Institute said in response to the rejected Australian ETS “It’s difficult to see what option there is to avoid another 12 months or more of political squabbling and scaremongering…”; Sydney Morning Herald, December 3, 2009, page 8.

Your action can make a difference

Think Climate Change - Be Climakind

ETS - No more delays!

The world needs climate action now. While we quibble over the details of how to implement an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) the window of opportunity to help stop damaging climate change narrows. Capping emissions with an ETS is a step in the right direction. An ETS provides an environmentally effective and efficient means of reducing carbon emissions. It allows the market to determine where and at what price emissions will be reduced. At the same time it provides incentive for research and investment in low-carbon solutions - the only way to a sustainable future.

All of this is well documented on sites such as www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/Climate101-CapTrade-Jan09.pdf. What Climakind adds to the mix is the ability for individuals and organisations to participate in the purchase and cancellation of carbon credits. This effectively removes them from the carbon market and stops them from ever being used to create carbon dioxide. The reduced supply of carbon credits pushes up the carbon credit price making alternative low-carbon solutions more attractive. Low-carbon solutions are the only way to a sustainable future.

See http://www.climakind.com/ for more information.


Here is an exert from the Climakind presentation on the ETS.