These commitments would bring the companies' emissions a decade from now well below levels they were a decade ago. IBM, from previous efforts, has already achieved an estimated 20 percent reduction in global carbon dioxide emissions through energy conservation efforts made from 1990 through 1997. In October, Polaroid became the third major corporation to join the partnership, pledging to cut its carbon emissions by at least 20 percent by 2005 compared to 1994 levels, and by 25 percent by 2010. Achieving that goal would be equivalent to removing more than 12,000 cars from the road. The efforts by these companies are part of a new Climate Savers program that will work with companies around the globe to craft practical ways to achieve energy efficiency goals and increase the use of clean energy technology.
Companies joining the program also agree to have their emissions reductions independently verified.
Some companies will engage in an innovative trading arrangement proposed under the Kyoto Protocol, called emissions trading, to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions trading allows a company that is able to cut emissions beyond its targeted amount to sell credits to other companies that cannot make similar cuts as cheaply. The program provides a cost-effective way for companies to cut their emissions, and, according to officials, provides the most efficient approach for slowing climate change. President Clinton has just announced a major initiative that calls for limiting harmful emissions, including carbon dioxide, from U.S. electric power plants. A key part of the strategy is the use of emissions trading to allow the power sector to meet its emissions reduction goals in a cost-effective way.