Congratulations to Katie from Portland, OR for winning this week’s comment contest and the $25.00 prize! Katie responded to our post “Emissions Trading: Good for All or Good for None?”

Globalization plays a role as both a threat and an opportunity in carbon trading. As the article above mentions, the U.S. has been a culprit in taking advantage of off-shore polluting and has long been independent of global efforts to improve emissions when it failed to ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

BBC News reports that the EU is expanding its Emissions Trading Scheme in order to include more industrialized nations, including poorer nations where help is needed.
Part of the plan to cut emissions will cost 175 billion euros annually by 2020, much of which the EU says will be needed in developing countries. The pact will be determined in Copenhagen in December, which would be a successor to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

While the EU is expanding emissions control standards in developing nations, how will they find a way to include developed nations, like the U.S., as well as China and India? It is promising that the EU hopes to encourage a green infrastructure in these countries, but what about countries with the resources that fail to be responsible for their effects on the environment?

Emissions trading is a complex and controversial approach to reducing emissions worldwide. Critics argue that emissions trading will prohibit economic growth in developing countries, while others insist that action be taken now to prevent further damage caused by global warming. What do you think? Share your thoughts and keep commenting for a chance to win next week!