Hi everybody. This is Jason Smith, founder and director of DriveNeutral, here. I just want to chime in quickly on a couple of points.
First is this: Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is voluntary but, and this is crucial to understanding how it works, it is absolutely legally binding. That is, once you join the CCX you are legally bound to compliance for the entire term of your membership and you can not just "drop out" if the cost of compliance becomes too high.
Secondly, every company, municipality, university or other organization that joins either directly or through the purchase of allowances meets their reduction commitments annually. This means that the net total of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is annually reduced. Period. It helps solve the problem of escalating, unaudited emissions.
Companies like DuPont, Motorola, IBM, Dow Corning, Ford, Bayer, American Electric Power, and cities like Boulder, CO and Oakland, CA and Universities like University of Oklahoma and Presidio School of Management have all joined and all reduced their emissions as a result.
My third point is this: DriveNeutral exists to
(1) educate individuals about market-based solutions to climate change,
(2) help drive these markets toward a truer cost of carbon,
(3) open the markets to everyday people, so that we can all vote with our dollars for large scale reductions, and
(4) so that while you are saving up for that new zero-emissions Tesla electric roadster, you can still do something about climate change right now.The fourth point I'd like to share is that all reductions are annually reviewed and verified by the National Association of Securities Dealers. This is not purely a market of goodwill plus smoke and mirrors. This is the real thing. Carefully audited, legally accountable, open market trading, for large scale emissions allowances under a legally enforceable emissions cap. The only thing that could be better is a national, or better yet, global emissions cap. Even then, the basic model would be no different, only larger and more inclusive.
Finally, and by the way, in this country, the tranportation sector is responsible for 34% of total greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than any other country's (aside from China) total greenhouse gas emissions. That's another big reason we do what we do. We'd love to have you join DriveNeutral and the movement to drive the way toward a carbon neutral future. It's only a start but it works.
Thanks for listening, Jason
