Carbon Credit Banking Must Be Part Of Cop 7 Agreement

Calling the issue critical to climate change policy, Environmental Defense today urged delegates attending talks on global warming in Morocco to support the ability of nations to “bank” credits earned for reducing the release of carbon dioxide.

“As we have seen with the successful effort to reduce acid rain in the U.S., the ability of countries to bank credits is essential for the creation of both the environmental and economic benefits of emissions trading,” said Environmental Defense senior attorney Joseph Goffman. “The nations of the Umbrella group are right to insist that this innovative approach remain a part of the global warming framework that was created in Kyoto.”

Citing the success of credit banking in the reduction of sulfur dioxide, a key component in acid rain, Goffman rejected arguments that the concept could be scrapped in order to reach agreement.

“Eliminating the ability for nations to save their emissions credits will actually lead to more global warming, not less,” Goffman said. “If they cannot be banked for later use, credits will simply flood the marketplace, driving down their value and encouraging the release of more greenhouse gasses, instead of spurring investment in additional reductions.”