A research paper exploring how to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Written in my Environmental Field and Research class. Abstract Greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are incredibly detrimental to the environment, and a substantial portion of these emissions are released by industrial entities (Climate Accountability Institute, 2019). The current practice of reporting these emissions in terms of geographic or political region does little to energize the movement towards environmental legislation, while reporting by emitter on an international scale not only reduces diplomatic and political conflict, but accurately expresses how much of global emissions are from industry. Identifying the specific emitters and how they function also provides insight into how they may respond to various environmental restrictions or incentives to reduce emissions. The major emitters are businesses, which govern their actions based on economic benefit, meaning markets and tax laws focused on meeting emissions quota will push companies to develop eco friendly business practices, effectively pushing the most ecologically damaging part of the global economy towards green energy as opposed to polluting fossil fuels. Introduction Emissions, particle pollutants released into the environment, wreak havoc on the environment. The most widely discussed emissions are collectively referred to as ‘greenhouse gasses’ or GHGs. Greenhouse gasses are named for their behavior in the atmosphere, which forms a barrier that traps heat, causing warming not dissimilar to the inside of a greenhouse (NASA, 2020). Carbon dioxide and monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases are the most common industrial greenhouse gas emissions (Tanguay, 2019). Traditionally greenhouse gas and other emissions are reported by state, country, or region. This type of geographical division rarely alters the discussion surrounding greenhouse gas emissions (CDP, 2018), as the most developed, industrialized, populous nations are found, time and again, to have the highest emissions (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020). The worst offenders include: China, The United States, India, and Russia, were found to each have emitted a total of 19.74 GT of CO2 in 2018 alone, a total of 55% of the world emissions that year (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2020). In fact, reporting emissions by nations may even serve to stall the discussion surrounding them entirely. Looking at emissions in terms of the country that produced them tends to result in divisions such as “developed vs. developing, North vs. South, historical emitters vs. future emitters, etc” which led to conflict that prevented the Copenhagen summit from coming to an agreement in 2009 (CDP, 2018). CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, has taken a different approach by investigating and reporting emissions on a company-by-company basis. In doing so they have been able to link 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1998 to only 100 companies (Acciona, n.d.). Reporting emissions data in this way can benefit future international summits focusing on climate change legislation by pinpointing potential weaknesses in policy and rallying nations against the biggest polluters: industry. This paper will examine the biggest industrial emitters and ways to potentially reduce their emissions without negatively affecting the economy. Environmental Activism and the People Even all of the tracking in the world cannot help us, unless we work to create a system that facilitates change. There is currently no legal architecture, in America or the world at large, to reward those who decrease emissions or punish those who increase them (Kamarck, 2019). Without some sort of overarching system, reduction in emissions is unlikely to occur, especially on the necessary scale because it is only possible with “collective action on many fronts” (Kamarck, 2019). Traditionally, environmental action has been driven by policymakers who in turn have been influenced by others. Policymakers are influenced by lobbyists, intermediary organizations, and their own constituents (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, n.d.). Organizations and experts are especially important for counsel on issues that require specialization, such as environmental concerns. Now, climate action has become a social movement, and is ‘no longer confined to the direction given by policy makers,’ instead it is guided by ‘economic and ethical’ imperatives (CDP, 2018). Tracking Emissions by Entity As previously mentioned, The CDP has concluded “100 of all the hundreds of thousands of companies in the world have been responsible for 71% of global greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming since 1998” (Acciona, n.d.). Furthermore, over half of global emissions were traced to only 25 entities” (Acciona, n.d.). Many of these companies are not well-known internationally, and yet they account for such a substantial portion of the pollution that is affecting the entire globe. These are the emissions that so many credit with accelerating climate change and putting the world’s most fragile ecosystems at risk. See Table 1 below. The Difference Changing How Emissions Are Reported Can Make The CDP takes their mission to accurately report international emissions seriously, pouring through governmental reports and individual reports from the companies themselves (CDP, 2018). The full database is only available via purchase, but each year CDP publishes a summary of their findings in the form of the Carbon Majors Report. Pedro Faria, the Technical Director of the CDP has claimed cataloguing emissions by company offers “a new and powerful perspective on climate accountability, different from the dichotomies Parties adopted about future responsibility and that led to stalemate for an agreement in the Copenhagen summit: developed vs. developing, North vs. South, historical emitters vs. future emitters, etc” (CDP, 2018). Simply attributing emissions directly to the entities which emit them can do wonders for international policy surrounding climate change and environmental regulations, as nations do not have to fight to blame others. See Figure 1 below. 32% of the emissions tracked by the CDP come from public companies owned by investors (Acciona, n.d.). This means that investors have a say in the companies’ actions, procedures, and regulations, and have the power to go so far as to “make their economic support conditional on the companies committing to decarbonization of the energy sector” (Acciona, n.d.). As time goes on, markets dependent on fossil fuels continually become more unstable, and increasingly dangerous for investors with a lot to lose (Acciona, n.d.). This disparity is especially evident in the energy sector, which is changing rapidly to account for new innovations involving greener energy solutions (Acciona, n.d.). Reducing Emissions without Impacting the Economy One of the biggest considerations for industry is the economic impact environmental regulations may pose. Studies have shown environmental regulations can significantly improve the economic performance of the industrial sectors (Ramanathan, Black, Nath, & Muyldermans, 2010). Environmental regulations on a national or international level have been shown to improve the economies of the regions in question, while also improving the economic performance of individual companies (Ramanathan et al., 2010). Fossil fuels of all kinds are currently more accessible than green alternatives, but this can quickly change through regulations. Renewable energy will be developed at a higher rate if fossil fuels are restricted or otherwise made obsolete through an increase in price to produce and use (Vesser, 2019). Changing the structure of the worldwide economic markets through emissions regulation has the capacity to not only protect the environment and improve the quality of life of millions, it can also strengthen the economy. This market-oriented approach to emissions regulation can “achieve a particular emissions target at a lower social cost than a more prescriptive regulatory approach due to the greater flexibility that it offers sources in determining how to reduce emissions” meaning, much of the work involved with getting companies to comply with regulations is put to the emitters themselves through monetary incentives (EPA, 2020). In this way, companies will look for the most cost-effective way of lowering emissions in order to save money. Conclusion Industrial emissions are currently wreaking havoc on the environment, and companies around the world remain unscathed. Each year greenhouse gas emissions increase as climate change worsens, hurting life all over the world. The traditional method of reporting emissions by state, country, or region no longer works, as has been proven by multiple failed attempts at international environmental protection legislation or other emissions reductions summits. As ordinary people become more environmentally conscious in their actions and involved in pushing for policy change, changing how emissions are catalogued and discussed can work wonders to reduce international conflict while assigning blame to those responsible, the emitters themselves. The goal should not be to simply reassign the blame for the worsening climate crisis, but instead to shift focus from irresponsible governing regarding regulation to creating systems that feed into the industry-based markets that much of society relies on. Establishing economic regulations and incentives will push emitters to inherently favor greener business practices in order to make the greatest monetary gains, or alternatively avoid the greatest monetary hits. Industrial emissions, which will become an ever larger part of global emissions, can not be curbed without organized efforts and systems attacking the problem from all sides: the consumer end, the legislative end, and the business end. Together these approaches can build upon each other and may successfully shift society from fossil fuel reliance to green energy reliance, benefiting us all in the long run. References Acciona. (n.d.). 100 companies are responsible for 71% of GHG emissions. Retrieved October 28, 2020, from http://www.activesustainability.com/climate-change/100-companies-responsible-71-ghg-emissions/ CDP. (2018, January). CDP Carbon Majors Report 2017. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://b8f65cb373b1b7b15feb-c70d8ead6ced550b4d987d7c03fcdd1d.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/cms/reports/documents/000/002/327/original/Carbon-Majors-Report-2017.pdf Climate Accountability Institute. (2019). Carbon Majors. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://climateaccountability.org/carbonmajors.html EPA. (2020, July 07). Economics of Climate Change. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://www.epa.gov/environmental-economics/economics-climate-change Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.). CommunicatIng With Policymakers. Retrieved October, 2020, from http://www.fao.org/3/i2195e/i2195e02.pdf Kamarck, E. (2019, September 23). The Challenging Politics of Climate Change. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-challenging-politics-of-climate-change/ NASA. (2020, October). What Is the Greenhouse Effect? Retrieved October, 2020, from https://climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/ Ramanathan, R., Black, A., Nath, P., & Muyldermans, L. (2010, November 16). Impact of environmental regulations on innovation and performance in the UK industrial sector. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00251741011090298/full/html Tanguay, R. (2019, November 02). Types of Emissions - Pollution in Our Air, Water and Soil. Retrieved October, 2020, from https://www.emissionstax.org/types-of-emissions/ Union of Concerned Scientists. (2020, August 12). Each Country's Share of CO2 Emissions. Retrieved October, 2020, from http://www.ucsusa.org/resources/each-countrys-share-co2-emissions Vesser, B. (2019, December 23). U.S. Climate Legislation: Will it help or hurt our economy? Retrieved October, 2020, from https://theclimatecenter.org/u-s-climate-legislation-will-it-help-or-hurt-our-economy/ November 2020, 12th Grade
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