Recently in the United States there has been a lot of talk by politicians and citizens alike about pollution and carbon emission made by companies into the atmosphere. Prominent individuals and leaders of the nation have gotten together and drafted a cap and trade law. This law would restrict carbon emission into the air and allow companies to trade their pollution permits. While there are many aspects of the cap and trade law, I would like to focus on one part, the core, of passing the cap and trade law in the United States. Consider the following questions. Would a cap and trade law lower the world’s pollution level because it decreases pollution in the United States? Or would the United States’ high polluting companies just relocate to somewhere where they can pollute without restriction?
Imposing a cap and trade program to deal with carbon emissions in the atmosphere will only cause high polluting companies to move to a different country thereby not decreasing the amount of pollution in the atmosphere. Through the cap and trade law, high polluting companies become like felons fleeing the country in the middle of the night. If there is a company in the US that pollutes substantially there is no reason for that company to stay in the United States and pay a lot of money to buy and trade permits to emit carbon when all they have to do is relocate to somewhere that they can pollute without punishment or without a high cost to pollute. Aaron Renn, an independent writer about urban affairs, firmly believes that even if the cap and trade law is passed in America, it would not influence carbon pollution for good but rather for the worse. In his insightful article, Mr. Renn says, “An American manufacturer could escape cap and trade simply by moving production to China. Given China’s massive coal-based electricity infrastructure and other notoriously polluting practices, carbon emissions would likely only get worse as a result…” China and its potentially rising pollution level are only a plane ride and a cap and trade law approval in the US away.
The United States has a Pollution Prevent Act which companies currently have to regulate how much pollution they emit into the air (link to webpage for the full act found here). Under this act, companies are given a rule to govern pollution. If the cap and trade law, a more costly rule to companies about pollution, was to pass companies would flee United State’s boarders, just like a felon fleeing the country before he can be arrested. Once these felons/companies escaped the US, pollution would skyrocket.
Practice
11 years ago
The theory on American companies moving overseas is a good strategy in opposition to the Bill because, supposing it to be correct, it would basically refute a major part of the Bill's legislation, which is to create jobs for American citizens and improve the economy. My research has shown, however, that there are provisions against that very eventuality - a favorite highlight of the Bill's proponents is "1.7 million jobs that cannot be outsourced" - so we'll both have to get the facts straight on that, one way or another.
ReplyDeleteAs for the effectiveness of this argument, the "felons in the night" is unexpected and easy to retain. It might also cast a negative light on those companies, putting them in the role of potential crooks, and that's something we have to be careful about when using metaphors and such.