Carbon Trading Heats Up with Global Warming

With global warming firmly pointed at the US wealth generating industrial machine, federal schemes for regulating carbon producing industries and an emerging carbon trading system impact all companies. CFO magazine lays out the pros and cons of all of this in it’s article on “Carbon Trading“. The message is clearly to be aware and start understanding this area or be left behind having to purchase expensive carbon offsets combined with costly carbon-reducing improvements.

The mind-numbing uncertainty of this area, combined with a need for action, is leaving many confused. On one hand CFO says:

“When federal legislation hits, the clutch of credits could be turned into a source of windfall profits”

…but on the other….

“The potential for purchasing worthless credits explains why a few finance chiefs are already getting into the carbon issue.”

This seems to be driven by potential federal action within the next three years. “Carbon legislation” will probably place carbon restrictions on corporations- whether or not certain carbon credits or offsets will be included is not clear. The potential for profit is already driving some ridiculous activity:

“Stories have already appeared in the Financial Times about manufacturers in India purposely building factories with excessive greenhouse-gas emissions so they can sell the reduction credits.”

This is not going to be simple and promises to involve massive governmental regulation of both manufacturing and financial industries.

Have you experienced the impact of carbon trading and/or carbon emission regulation? What steps are you taking prepare for the inevitable, but now unclear, federal legislation? To what extent is this simply a public relations issue?

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