Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Global climate change is one of the nation's most significant long-term policy challenges. Human activities are producing increasingly large quantities of greenhouse gases, particularly CO2. The accumulation of those gases in the atmosphere is expected to have potentially serious and costly effects on regional climates throughout the world. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions would help limit the degree of damage associated with climate change. However, decreasing those emissions would also impose costs on the economy as in the case of CO2, because much economic activity is based on fossil fuels, which release carbon in the form of carbon dioxide when they are burned. One option for reducing emission is to establish a &quote;cap-and-trade&quote; program. This book explores the implications and containing the cost of a cap-and-trade program, its potential benefits and concerns.