Politicians who oppose measures to fight climate change typically express strident opposition to cap-and-trade proposals to regulate greenhouse gases, arguing that such an approach is bad for business. History, however, shows such a program can be remarkably effective.
As reported by the Environmental Protection Agency, a cap-and-trade system was instrumental in reducing acid rain, one of the most feared environmental threats of the 1980s and early 1990s.
Legislation passed in 1990 and implemented in 1995 as part of the Clean Air Act established overall emission caps on sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, the two pollutants chiefly responsible for acid rain, but allowed industries to trade allowances to meet their business needs.
In the decade-and-a-half that the cap-and-trade system has been in place, levels of sulfur dioxide in the air have dropped precipitously. In 2009, power plants emitted 5.7 million tons of the compound, 64 percent less than in 1990.
The benefits, the agency says, are substantial. The savings in public health costs of the cap-and-trade framework amounted to more than $120 billion in 2010, about 40 times the estimated cost.
The Center for Public Integrity noted that the EPA’s report provides political backing for those who argue that the ultimate economic benefits of a carbon cap-and-trade system far outweigh the initial costs, which counters economics-based arguments for not addressing carbon emissions.
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