Energy is in the spotlight again as governments look for ways to stem climate change and air pollution while continuing to power cities and towns across North America.
With the attention on reduction and renewable sources of energy, many emissions limiting terms such as carbon tax, cap and trade systems, renewable energy credits (RECs) and carbon offsets are being deployed.
As the energy debate and our planet heat up, we’re left wondering, “What does it all mean?”
In this first post of a series on electricity, we thought a few quick definitions might help:
Cap and trade is used to limit emissions by regulating the amount a company or group may pollute. Each company and/or group receives a specified number of allowances or credits, which they must either hold, buy or sell depending on their needs. Emissions trading is highly criticized for its complexity, monitoring, enforcement, and method of determining the initial allocation and cap numbers. This system is being used in some U.S. states, however better models exist in Europe.
Carbon tax is an environmental tax on emissions (the burning of fossil fuels) to help slow climate change. Canadians are somewhat familiar with carbon tax, also referred to as the Green Shift, which the Liberal Party proposed as a climate change solution leading up to the 2008 election.
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are sold on the voluntary market as “green” attributes of renewable, low-impact electricity generation. As explained on Green-e’s website, one REC is issued for each megawatt-hour (MWh) unit of renewable electricity produced. RECs are sold separately and embody only environmental benefits of renewable, low-impact electricity.
Carbon Offsets are sold as greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction products on the voluntary market. When an offset is purchased, it is meant to be a real environmental commodity, not a donation or investment in a future project.
Visit www.green-e.org for more about carbon offsets and check back for news about EcoLogo’s renewable, low-impact electricity criteria development process to be launched soon.
Posted by KateRusnak in Environmental standards