African and Latin American countries are more interested, but they want guarantees that they will get their share of the aid. In Buenos Aires, Kazakhstan and Argentina agreed to commit themselves to reductions. If these costs are too high, the Senate will not support the treaty. Many economists say the way to keep costs down is to let countries buy and sell emissions quotas, making the deepest cuts where it is cheapest to do so. The United States would be able to buy its way into compliance with the treaty by paying other industrial countries, like Russia, to cut emissions more than the treaty required.
European nations are the biggest opponents of unfettered trading in emission credits.
They are demanding that the United States achieve at least a majority of its emissions reductions within its own borders. Many third-world nations, too, have objected that it is unfair for rich countries to buy their way out of treaty obligations. But schisms among developing nations are weakening their resistance, and Europeans are recognizing that they need to make concessions to the Americans if the treaty is to work. Every year that goes by without controls on greenhouse gas emissions makes it harder for the United States and other industrial nations to comply with their targets. Many companies have already invested in energy saving and other approaches to cut their emissions, or are planning to do so soon.