What’s Blowing in the Wind: Government and Industry Tackle Air Pollution

by Avery Yale Kamila
Published in SOSUpdate

(April 2003) The Bush administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, but global climate change and industrial air emissions are receiving increased attention from both government regulators and private businesses.

"North Carolina is especially vulnerable to climate change," says Michael Shore who is the air policy analyst for the North Carolina office of Environmental Defense. "The barrier islands are projected to be gone. The warmer climate is expected to make hurricanes more frequent and intense. The change in climate is also expected to increase mosquito borne diseases and drought."

"There are a number of companies, like DuPont, Motorola and BP, that saw the handwriting on the wall and have quite aggressively tackled their greenhouse gas emissions," explains Jim Southerland, who is an Environmental Engineer with North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

In January of this year, fourteen large U.S. companies, including Ford Motor Company and International Paper, launched the Chicago Climate Exchange, a marketplace for the trading of greenhouse gas emissions. To join, member companies must agree to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by four percent over the next four years.

The initiative is similar to other pollution trading programs created by government regulation. The sulfur dioxide cap and trade system for power plants that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set up in 1990 is an example. This program, which was created to address acid rain, reduced sulfur dioxide emissions from 17.3 million tons in 1980 to 11.2 million tons in 2000.

DuPont, a founding member of the Chicago Climate Exchange, has worked aggressively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since 1990, the company has reduced such emissions by 65 percent. DuPont, which has operations around the world and three plants in North Carolina, is active in many emissions trading markets.

"One of our concerns," says Dave Findlay, Global Business Director for Emissions Trading at DuPont, "is that in the absence of a national program, you get a bunch of regional programs. For a company that operates in a number of these jurisdictions, it is much more costly." States, such as Louisiana and Texas, have developed regional programs with differing targets and timetables.

The Bush administration is promoting a voluntary, public-private partnership as a way to combat climate change. Known as Climate VISION, the program aims to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent during the next 10 years. DuPont views the Climate VISION program as a good first step, but argues for a stronger program.

Says Mr. Findlay, "It is our perspective that the administration’s early targets and voluntary approaches won’t result in reductions of greenhouses gases. They will actually go up. The science requires a stronger response than that. We feel that firmer caps need to be put in place."

Caroline Choi, the Manager of the Environmental Strategic Unit at Progress Energy, offers a different perspective. "With respect to climate change," she says. "We think voluntary is the way to go. The main reason is that there is no technology available to remove carbon dioxide." Progress Energy is participating in Climate VISION through an industry association. The company operates seven coal-fired power plants in North Carolina.

On February 27, the Clear Skies Act of 2003 was introduced into Congress. If passed, this legislation will modify the section of the Clean Air Act that covers power plants and establish a cap for nitrogen oxides, mercury and sulfur dioxide. The legislation does not place a cap on carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

John Bachman, EPA’s Associate Director for Science and Policy, explains that "some coal industries and environmental groups asked why carbon dioxide wasn’t being included. The answer is that there is no ready technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Since we know what we want to do about sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury, we decided to go ahead and do it and not wait to resolve the carbon dioxide issue."

Mr. Bachman adds that "states could still adopt standards that are tighter than federal rules." This is of particular concern to many in North Carolina, where the landmark Clean Smokestacks legislation that passed last summer exceeds federal regulations.

Last November, the EPA finalized changes to the New Source Review (NSR) section of the Clean Air Act. Facilities must apply for NSR when they make a change (such as new construction or renovation) that results in an air emissions increase. These rules apply to all industries, except power plants, which have separate rules.

Environmentalists have criticized the NSR rule changes as industry loopholes and ten states are currently suing EPA over these rule changes. In a separate legal challenge, seven states are attempting to force EPA regulation of carbon dioxide.

In response to the charges against NSR, Bill Harnett, the EPA Division Director responsible for the NSR Program, says, "We think these new rules are giving incentives for plants to put on new controls. We don’t see these as loopholes at all."

According to Mr. Harnett, the new rules change the way overall emissions increases are calculated. In the past, regulated factories were required to use the previous two years as a baseline. The revised rules allow a facility to choose two consecutive years out of the past 10 that the business feels is representative of their emissions.

The rule changes also provide three ways that a particular plant can be exempted from NSR. To forgo EPA review, a facility must do one of the following: agree to a plant-wide emissions cap; undertake specific pollution control and prevention projects; or install state-of-the-art pollution controls. There are 450 plants in North Carolina that are affected by this rule change.

North Carolina businesses that want assistance in making greenhouse gas emission reductions, can contact Global Warming Initiatives, Inc. in Raleigh. The nonprofit organization works with large and small companies across the state to help them connect with the wealth of free and low cost resources that are available to help improve their efficiency and environmental performance.

The organization also reports client’s greenhouse gas reductions to the national registry. The client rooster of Global Warming Initiatives includes Baxter Healthcare, Cargill, Northrop Grumman and Miller Brewing.

President and CEO, Jim Haven, says that "Global Warming Initiatives becomes a new cost center for any company we are working with. I am like a marriage broker. I show them the tools and where the professionals are."