Become a Fan
Follow us on Twitter
Early Action; what is it and why should I care?
Posted by Walt Vernon on December 11, 2009 at 12:07am
There is a key provision in almost every climate change law introduced in the US that deals with what is called “Early Action.” The people who write the laws want people to change their behaviors, and they don’t want people waiting until detailed regulations are finalized before doing something. So, they almost always include provisions rewarding early action. That is, if an organization chooses to take action before the regulations go into effect, the laws require the regulators to give you credit for doing so; they want to create incentives for people to do good things early - before the government makes them do it.
In 2006, California passed the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Embedded in this law is the requirement that regulators: “Design the regulations, including distribution of emissions allowances where appropriate, in a manner that is equitable, seeks to minimize costs and maximize the total benefits to California, and encourages early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” That is, AB32 requires regulators to take into account those actions taken by emitters to reduce their emissions prior to the dates when the regulations have teeth. The result is that building owners can greatly lessen the ultimate burden from regulations by acting early; by acting early, not only will the compliance burden be easier to meet when it kicks in, but also the owner will have some further buffer in the form of early action credits.
This is an extremely important point for people who own buildings. It is hard to deny that regulations are coming that will limit the consumption of energy derived from fossil fuels. Moving now to measure emissions levels (to create a baseline) and to them capture voluntary early action reductions will help everyone. Make your life easier by acting now.
Subscribe to our Newsfeed