Joining 33 other states in a national effort to track greenhouse gas emissions by large industries, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has signed onto The Climate Registry. The goal is to replace the patchwork reporting system with standardized and verified measurements of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide that can inform the debate over global climate change.
Writes Christina Nuckols with the Virginian-Pilot:
Rob Jones, executive director of the Virginia Climate Initiative, said the uniform reporting system could move the country closer to a system that combines emission caps with market-based regulations that give industries some flexibility in achieving pollution reductions.
Industry leaders say the registry could benefit them by simplifying what is now a patchwork of confusing regulations in different states. “We’re already reporting all of this data anyway,” said David Heacock, Dominion’s senior vice president of fossil and hydro. “We’re pleased to see Virginia is coordinating with other states to provide standardized reporting requirements.”
This sounds like a positive development. The dynamics of global climate change and the extent to which climate is influenced by human agency are still imperfectly understood. Both sides of the Global Warming debate can agree, however, that public policy should be based upon sound science and sound data. The cost of setting up the program is minimal: between $20,000 and $30,000. This looks like a no brainer.
