The marketplace should determine best approach to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Trading can result in equal or greater air quality improvements, and is more expedient, more efficient, and less costly than source specific emissions reduction requirements. WSPA does not support market incentives that are based on emission charge systems or subsidies. Emission charge systems require polluters to pay a fee or tax based on the level of the emissions.
Subsidies involve offering a financial inducement to encourage otherwise uneconomical behavior.
Market-based or incentive environmental programs are regulatory approaches that rely on economic incentives to encourage or discourage certain activities. Marketable credits or market incentive programs may supplement or replace command and control programs. The use of market incentives is encouraged and in some cases mandated in the 1990 Amendments to the U.S. Clean Air Act. Emissions trading is a regulatory program that allows facilities the flexibility to select individual solutions to achieve established environmental goals. Facilities can meet established emission goals by reducing emission from a discrete emissions unit or by reducing equivalent emissions from another unit within that facility or another facility.