Environmental finance is a field within finance that employs market-based environmental policy instruments to improve the ecological impact of investment strategies. The primary objective of environmental finance is to regress the negative impacts of climate change through pricing and trading schemes. The field of environmental finance was established in response to the poor management of economic crises by government bodies globally. Environmental finance aims to reallocate a businesses resources to improve the sustainability of investments whilst also retaining profit margins.
A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions required to produce goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the "hidden" social costs of carbon emissions,which are otherwise felt only in indirect ways like more severe weather events. In this way,they are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing prices of the fossil fuels that emit them when burned. This both decreases demand for goods and services that produce high emissions and incentivizes making them less carbon-intensive. In its simplest form,a carbon tax covers only CO2 emissions;however,it could also cover other greenhouse gases,such as methane or nitrous oxide,by taxing such emissions based on their CO2-equivalent global warming potential. When a hydrocarbon fuel such as coal,petroleum,or natural gas is burned,most or all of its carbon is converted to CO
2. Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change,which damages the environment and human health. This negative externality can be reduced by taxing carbon content at any point in the product cycle. Carbon taxes are thus a type of Pigovian tax.
The energy policy of the United States is determined by federal,state,and local entities. It addresses issues of energy production,distribution,consumption,and modes of use,such as building codes,mileage standards,and commuting policies. Energy policy may be addressed via legislation,regulation,court decisions,public participation,and other techniques.
Joseph J. Romm is an American researcher,author,editor,physicist and climate expert,who advocates reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming and increasing energy security through energy efficiency and green energy technologies. Romm is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2009,Rolling Stone magazine named Romm to its list of "100 People Who Are Changing America",and Time magazine named him one of its "Heroes of the Environment (2009)",calling him "The Web's most influential climate-change blogger".
The energy policy of the United Kingdom refers to the United Kingdom's efforts towards reducing energy intensity,reducing energy poverty,and maintaining energy supply reliability. The United Kingdom has had success in this,though energy intensity remains high. There is an ambitious goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in future years,but it is unclear whether the programmes in place are sufficient to achieve this objective. Regarding energy self-sufficiency,UK policy does not address this issue,other than to concede historic energy security is currently ceasing to exist.
The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006,or Assembly Bill (AB) 32,is a California State Law that fights global warming by establishing a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sources throughout the state. AB32 was co-authored by then-Assemblymember Fran Pavley and then-Speaker of the California Assembly Fabian Nunez and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on September 27,2006.
Carbon pricing is a method for nations to address climate change. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the combustion of coal,oil and gas –the main driver of climate change. The method is widely agreed and considered to be efficient. Carbon pricing seeks to address the economic problem that emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHG) are a negative externality –a detrimental product that is not charged for by any market.
The United States produced 5.2 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020,the second largest in the world after greenhouse gas emissions by China and among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person. In 2019 China is estimated to have emitted 27% of world GHG,followed by the United States with 11%,then India with 6.6%. In total the United States has emitted a quarter of world GHG,more than any other country. Annual emissions are over 15 tons per person and,amongst the top eight emitters,is the highest country by greenhouse gas emissions per person. However,the IEA estimates that the richest decile in the US emits over 55 tonnes of CO2 per capita each year. Because coal-fired power stations are gradually shutting down,in the 2010s emissions from electricity generation fell to second place behind transportation which is now the largest single source. In 2020,27% of the GHG emissions of the United States were from transportation,25% from electricity,24% from industry,13% from commercial and residential buildings and 11% from agriculture. In 2021,the electric power sector was the second largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,accounting for 25% of the U.S. total. These greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to climate change in the United States,as well as worldwide.
Emission trading (ETS) for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is a form of carbon pricing;also known as cap and trade (CAT) or carbon pricing. It is an approach to limit climate change by creating a market with limited allowances for emissions. This can lower competitiveness of fossil fuels and accelerate investments into low carbon sources of energy such as wind power and photovoltaics. Fossil fuels are the main driver for climate change. They account for 89% of all CO2 emissions and 68% of all GHG emissions.
The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) was an energy bill in the 111th United States Congress that would have established a variant of an emissions trading plan similar to the European Union Emission Trading Scheme. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives on June 26,2009,by a vote of 219–212. With no prospect of overcoming a threatened Republican filibuster,the bill was never brought to the floor of the Senate for discussion or a vote. The House passage of the bill was the "first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change."
The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China,and is among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. In total,the United States has emitted over 400 billion metric tons of greenhouse gasses,more than any country in the world.
The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A number of governments across the world took a variety of actions.
A carbon fee and dividend or climate income is a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. The system imposes a carbon tax on the sale of fossil fuels,and then distributes the revenue of this tax over the entire population as a monthly income or regular payment.
The Clean Power Plan was an Obama administration policy aimed at combating anthropogenic climate change that was first proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2014. The final version of the plan was unveiled by President Obama on August 3,2015. Each state was assigned an individual goal for reducing carbon emissions,which could be accomplished how they saw fit,but with the possibility of the EPA stepping in if the state refused to submit a plan. If every state met its target,the plan was projected to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation 32% by 2030,relative to 2005 levels,as well as achieving various health benefits due to reduced air pollution.
Washington Initiative 732 (I-732) was a ballot initiative in 2016 to levy a carbon tax in the State of Washington,and simultaneously reduce the state sales tax. It was rejected 59.3% to 40.7%. The measure appeared on the November 2016 ballot. The backers of I-732 submitted roughly 350,000 signatures in December 2015 to certify the initiative.
As the most populous state in the United States,California's climate policies influence both global climate change and federal climate policy. In line with the views of climate scientists,the state of California has progressively passed emission-reduction legislation.
The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2019 is a bill in the United States House of Representatives that proposes a fee on carbon at the point of extraction to encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fees are recycled to citizens in monthly dividends. The act was originally introduced in 2018 with bipartisan support from six co-sponsors and died when the 115th congress ended on 3 January 2019. It is principally based on Citizens' Climate Lobby's carbon fee and dividend proposal,and this organization advocates for the bill.
The environmental policy of the Joe Biden administration includes a series of laws,regulations,and programs introduced by United States President Joe Biden since he took office in January 2021. Many of the actions taken by the Biden administration reversed the policies of his predecessor,Donald Trump.
West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency,597 U.S. ___ (2022),was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court relating to the Clean Air Act,and the extent to which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can regulate carbon dioxide emissions related to climate change.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) is a landmark United States federal law which aims to curb inflation by possibly reducing the federal government budget deficit,lowering prescription drug prices,and investing into domestic energy production while promoting clean energy. It was passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on August 16,2022.
