Some environmental groups object to the grant of a legal right to pollute. International emission trading rights for carbon dioxide are now being debated as a means of reducing the costs of climate change measures in the Kyoto Protocol conferences of the parties' implementation negotiations. While long-term subsidization of any fuel, technology or product distorts the market and is therefore theoretically undesirable, temporary subsidies to bring new technologies into the marketplace can be effective, useful, and often essential to accelerate their market acceptance. Also, where fossil fuel subsidies persist, non-fossil fuel subsidies are justifiable to level the playing field for them. A good example of effective use of such temporary incentives is found in Denmark's introduction of wind power.
Consumers now pay less for wind power than for power from coal.
As a result of this program, Denmark now has over half of the world sales of wind turbines. The Poland Efficient Lighting Project, financed by the GEF and administrated by the International Finance Corporation established a 3-year program to subsidize compact fluorescent lamp sales. Energy savings from the program were estimated at 725GWh and 206,000 tons equivalent of carbon emissions over the lifetime of the lamps. For wind resources, the law also provides subsidies based on electricity output or capital costs. By the end of 1997, Germany had an installed wind capacity of 2,081 MW, the highest in the world.