New Mexico Forced to Buy on Chicago Climate Mart
Date: 09-Aug-06
Country: US
Author: Timothy Gardner
"This is not a program without teeth," New Mexico Environment Secretary Ron Curry told Reuters.
Unlike developed countries in the European Union, the United States does not have a mandatory emissions trading scheme because President Bush withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol.
As a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, the New Mexico state government agreed to cut emissions of the gases most scientists believe are causing climate change by 4 percent, or pay for credits to make up the difference.
New Mexico trimmed emissions from its state offices by purchasing power from wind farms, but fell short of its CCX contract by about 9,000 tonnes. It will have to buy emissions credits this year that will run US$30,000 to US$50,000 on the CCX, Curry said.
Critics of CCX have said the program does not yet reduce enough emissions to slow global warming. But Curry said the program is teaching the 200 regions and companies how to reduce emissions and to potentially profit by doing so.
Curry added that the binding contracts of CCX make trading members more active in combating global warming than simply signing a list to adopt Kyoto's principals, which some US cities and regions have done in protest of Bush's withdrawal from Kyoto.
New Mexico hopes to encourage its dairy industry to burn methane from its manure and get is oil and gas industry reduce emissions. "We hope to sell credits on CCX in the future," Curry said.
