Voluntary emissions reductions

In Texas, TXU is making a 10 billion investment for future power needs by creating a new renewable company for the electric power needs of a growing Texas market. It plans to provide lower-cost, secure and stable power with new consumer and business service offerings, and a voluntary emissions reduction program. The new investments will provide more reliable electricity thereby reducing dependence on natural gas, as well as create jobs and lower emissions. 

There has been considerable debate on the value, benefits, costs, and administrative procedures for emissions banking (Liroff, 1986). This project has not attempted to resolve these complex issues. It simply points out that from an industrial perspective, the inadequacies of existing banking systems present a disincentive to voluntary emissions reductions. In this context, since most of the options being considered are required by current or anticipated regulations, the concept of banking would involve early implementation of projects. 

Finally, it is worthy note that regulatory disincentives to voluntary reductions of emissions from petrolenm refineries also exist. Many environmental statutes define a baseline period and measnre progress in pollution reductions from that baseline. Any reduction in emissions before it is required could lower a facility s baseline emissions. Conseqnently, fnture regulations requiring a specified reduction from the baseline conld be more difficult (and consequently, more costly) to achieve because the most easily applied and hence the most cost-effective reductions would already have been made. With no credit given for voluntary reductions, those facilities that do the minimum may be in fact be rewarded when emissions reductions are reqnired. 

EPCRA also requires that companies compile a hazardous chemical inventory record and report releases. The EPA has used this information to create a nationwide record on the usage and release of hazardous materials.1 The dialogue resulting from the availability of such information to the public led most companies to subscribe to voluntary hazardous emission reduction programs. 

To address emissions of flame-retardants, a Voluntary Emissions Control Action Program (VECAP ) was initiated by the Bromine Science and Environmental Forum (BSEF).112 The VECAP Pilot program was initiated in the U.K. textiles industries in 2004 to reduced emissions of deca-BDE in line with the Code of Good Practice. After 1 year of implementation, the U.K. Pilot Program achieved a 75% reduction in emissions to water.113 The second year, a total of 90% reduction in emissions was then realized. 

There are arguably 3 key drivers for prioritization of substances for development of SQSs 1) remediation, 2) emission reductions, and 3) voluntary initiatives. The basis for any prioritization should be the consideration of some function of a substance s... 

In March 1992, the EPA announced that 734 companies, including almost half of the 600 largest waste generators, had joined the program and committed to overall emission reductions of over 300 million pounds by 1995. The EPA has touted the 33/50 program as a success, but environmental groups have pointed to the low participation rate as evidence of the weakness of the voluntary approach. 

However, determining the cap from voluntary agreements led to emission reduction targets that were disproportionately high for the... 

Thus, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 aimed to encourage voluntary reductions above the regulatory requirements by allowing facilities to obtain emission credits for voluntary reductions in emissions. These credits would serve as offsets against any potential future facility modifications, resulting in an increase in emissions. Other regulations established by the amendments, however, will require the construction of major new units within existing refineries to produce... 

The ERA has identified the petroleum refining industry as a targeted enforcement area for the Clean Air Act (CAA) passed in 1970 and the CAA Amendments of 1990. The final chapters of the book examine the evolution of the EPA s attempts to encourage the refining industry to enter into voluntary consent decrees to comply with the CAA and the 1990 amendments. The book describes consent decree negotiations as well as FCC emissions (SOx, NOx, CO, PM) reduction technologies through consent decree implementations. 

The Toxic Release Inventory is proving to be a good way to encourage voluntary reductions of emissions. 

The 33/50 Programme is a voluntary scheme designed to reduce emissions of 17 targeted chemicals. This list was created as much on the basis of the volumes of emissions as on environmental impact. For this reason, several solvents are included (Table 6.5). Companies (about 600 in total) that have joined this scheme were committed to achieving a 33% reduction in emissions of these particular materials by 1992 and a 50% reduction by 1995. The scheme appears to have made substantial progress towards these targets. 

Historically, governments have developed poHcies and created extensive regulatory frameworks or voluntary initiatives to force or induce industry to focus on waste emissions to air, land, and water. They have also focused on the reduction and elimination of toxics as opposed to preventing waste and toxics generation through chemistry and chemical technology innovations. As a result, and somewhat predictably, there is now an extensive industry to help companies identify hazardous properties of the chemicals routinely found in commercial products. Sadly there continues to be far less focus on, and certainly far less is understood, about how to transition from current unsustainable practices of making chemicals and the myriad of products made from chemicals. 

Recent actions taken by authorities in order to prevent further environmental contamination have led to several reductions in environmental emissions in the immediate past or near future. The voluntary initiative launched in 2006 by manufacturing industries to reduce emissions of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to the environment by 95% until 2010 (2000 as baseline year) is one example [19]. Although involved western industries aim at stopping PFOA emissions from products or facilities by 2015 [19], one should be aware that the phase-out of emissions does not entail global production stop. Recently, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) has been classified as a persistent organic pollutant (POP) by the Stockholm convention [20]. Also a restrictive regulation on the use of PFOS in Europe has been accepted by the European Parliament in 2006 [21]. According to the directive industries which cannot operate without PFOS are bound to use the best available techniques (BAT) to reduce emissions to the environment [21] and... 

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