Credit derivatives start

The implications of switching chemical manufacture from its current reliance on nonrenewable fossil fuel feedstocks to utilization of renewable, plant-derived feedstocks is considerable. The U.S. chemical industry currently uses 5 quads (1 quad = 1 x 10 British thermal units) of carbon for manufacture of organic chemicals. If these 5 quads of carbon were derived from renewable feedstocks, a net consumption of CO2 would be realized, given that the polyols used as starting materials are biosynthesized by plants from CO2 and are essentially immobilized forms of CO2. Since international treaties eventually require reductions in CO2 emissions in the United States, large-scale consumption of CO2 to make chemicals may be used as a credit to offset CO2 emissions resulting from combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity and combustion of petroleum-based transportation fuels. 

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