Emissions trading is a policy tool that has so far only been used extensively in the United States for certain pollutants, such as for lead in gasoline and for emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide. Experience elsewhere with emissions trading is limited.The development of formal emissions trading systems for greenhouse gases, however, is rapidly emerging and will soon become a major tool to help control emissions of these gases. Information is provided in this Primer on the status of greenhouse gas trading systems in use or under development in Europe, the United States and Canada.
The concepts underlying emissions trading are relatively simple, but the details involved in the development and implementation of trading systems can become complex. The Emissions Trading Primer contains sufficient detail to give the reader an idea of the concepts involved, as well as the basic principles and some of the details that govern actual trading systems.