{"id":312,"date":"2007-12-12T12:43:59","date_gmt":"2007-12-12T16:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/12\/12\/time_to_act\/"},"modified":"2008-04-22T12:17:53","modified_gmt":"2008-04-22T17:17:53","slug":"time_to_act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/12\/12\/time_to_act\/","title":{"rendered":"Time to Act, Not Despair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NatThis post is by Nat Keohane<\/a>, Director of Economic Policy and Analysis at Environmental Defense.<\/i><\/p>\n

In his December 11 post on Grist<\/a>, Ross Gelbspan argues that we’ve already passed the point of no return with global warming, and climate activists are full of "hollow optimism".<\/p>\n

There’s no doubt we’re already seeing signs of global warming. In our Climate 411 blog, we post signs of it all the time (see here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>, for example). But just because the boat has started to leak doesn’t mean it can’t still get much worse. Our most dangerous response to climate change is despair. Now, more than ever, we need to act.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Gelbspan agrees that we still need to act. Where we disagree is in what action to take. He says that the American public has a "mindless belief in the divine power of markets" and the "antidote" is a "revitalization of government" – that the government should pour hundreds of billions of dollars into carbon-free technologies.<\/p>\n

This is where we part company. Technological innovation is not most quickly and efficiently implemented by government programs. Markets are much more nimble and able to respond in real time to what works and what doesn’t. Our best hope is to get the power of markets working for us through a cap-and-trade system.<\/p>\n

Global warming is a classic example of market failure. The pollution that causes global warming has skyrocketed because the environmental costs are hidden, and we don\u2019t factor them into our decisions. Factories and power plants pay for the fuel they burn, but not for the pollution they emit. The solution is to harness the power of market forces by establishing firm caps on greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

We have proof that this works in the acid rain program<\/a>. When we put a cap on sulfur dioxide (SO2<\/sub>), the cause of acid rain, the power sector and its suppliers came up with a range of technological innovations to meet the new limits. Some were relatively mundane – for example, figuring out how to burn low-sulfur Wyoming coal in boilers designed for high-sulfur coal from Illinois or West Virginia. Others were more dramatic. The prospect of a cap on SO2<\/sub> prodded a team of GE engineers to figure out how to turn the waste from a "scrubber" into gypsum, which could be sold as a byproduct.<\/p>\n

Research by Carnegie Mellon University showed that patent filings spiked after the Clean Air Act [PDF]<\/a> though the government had been supporting research for long before that. They conclude, "The existence of national government regulation stimulated inventive activity more than government research support alone."<\/p>\n

\"Patent
\nSource: The Effect of Government Actions on Technological Innovation for SO2<\/sub> Control [PDF]<\/a>. The EPA\/DOE\/EPRI Mega Symposium, August 20-23, 2001.<\/i><\/p>\n

Again and again, American entrepreneurs and investors have shown the ability to solve problems – when there is a market incentive for them to act. If the government will lead by capping carbon pollution, the primary cause of climate change, the market will respond with investment and innovation on a scale to solve this problem. Already, venture capitalists are pouring more than $300 million a month into new energy technologies. But it will take the certainty of a cap, an overall limit on carbon pollution, to unleash a sustained wave of investment and innovation.<\/p>\n

Take one example of many: Burning coal to produce electricity is responsible for about 40 percent of the CO2<\/sub> emissions from the United States. In a typical coal-fired power plant, nearly one-third of the coal’s energy is lost as waste heat, greatly contributing to this pollution. A cap on carbon would give companies a monetary incentive to reduce that waste, so work to increase efficiency would rapidly expand. The new technologies could then be sold overseas, not only helping our balance of trade, but reducing greenhouse gas emissions in places like China.<\/p>\n

The incredible momentum for action on climate change is, in itself, a testament to the fact that we can solve this problem. The more than two dozen CEOs<\/a>, from firms like GE, Caterpillar, and Duke Energy, who endorsed a mandatory cap on carbon are hard-headed realists. They spoke out for a better world, but they also spoke up for their stockholders. It is the considered judgment of these corporate leaders that the carbon cap they endorsed is both technologically achievable and economically sound.<\/p>\n

With sufficient motivation, we can rise to the challenge and do what’s necessary. A cap on greenhouse gas emissions is the incentive we need to drive innovation and efficiency. We know what we need to do, and we have the ability to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is by Nat Keohane, Director of Economic Policy and Analysis at Environmental Defense. In his December 11 post on Grist, Ross Gelbspan argues that we’ve already passed the point of no return with global warming, and climate activists are full of "hollow optimism". 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