اعتبار CO2 یا اعتبار انرژی در انتشار تجارت ؟

Emission trading is a good concept and approach to tackle global warming. However, what “currency” or “credit” should be used in the trading has remained a debatable topic. This paper proposed an “Energy Credit” concept as an alternative to the “CO2 credit” that is currently in place. From the thermodynamic point of view, the global warming problem is an “energy balance” problem. The energy credit concept is thought to be more thermodynamically correct and tackles the core of the global warming problem more directly. The Energy credit concept proposed can be defined as: the credit to offset the extra energy trapped/absorbed in the earth (and its atmosphere) due to the extra anthropogenic emission (or other activities) by a country or company. A couple of examples are given in the paper to demonstrate the concept of the Energy credit and its advantages over the CO2 credit concept.

A key feature of the Kyoto Protocol is the free market approach to the greenhouse gas issue: the endorsement of international emissions trading, i.e., countries are allowed to obtain credits toward their (CO2 reduction) targets through project-based emission reductions/offsets in other countries. The CO2 is proposed to be used directly as the “currency” in the trading, although its political (and technical) acceptance is still in doubt (Boom, 2001). Generally speaking, the so-called CO2 credit is that if a company or a country wants to emit extra CO2, it needs to take some measures (e.g. planting trees or buying credit forest somewhere in the world) to reduce or offset/absorb CO2 emission somewhere. From the thermodynamic point of view, the cause of global warming is the heat (energy) accumulation in the earth and its atmosphere. This accumulation is mainly due to the imbalance of (solar) energy reaching the earth and the energy leaving the earth, which is caused by “green house effect” in which the CO2 and other green house gases play a critical role. In another words, the global warming problem is an “energy balance” problem. So, an “energy credit” concept is proposed in this paper, which is basically to use “energy” rather than CO2 as a measure in the emission trading between parties. The energy credit proposed in lay language is defined as: to emit extra CO2 or conduct any other activities contributing to global warming, you need to send the energy out of the earth's atmosphere, which equals the energy trapped due to the extra CO2 you emitted.

The “energy credit” concept proposed is superior to the “CO2 credit” and more likely to result in successful ratification and implementation of the emission trading to tackle the global warming problem. Although no intensive study on the energy credit concept has yet been done regarding its fairness and its possibility to succeed, the author believes that the concept is able to play a role in the emission trading mechanism because of its wider application potential (than CO2 credit). The author is a traditional supporter of the reduction of green house gas emissions by all means. The “Energy Credit” concept proposed in the paper is not an objection to the CO2 focused measure, but provide an alternative angle to look at the global warming problem. The “energy credit” concept/idea proposed is for discussion/debate.