What if the pollution emitted during the manufacture of a product remained attached to that product? Essentially giving emissions a paper trail. Emissions would then be transfered alongside the product, and so responsibility for the pollution would be linked to the market.
Currently, nations with high import rates gain the benefit of imported products without suffering any of the negative consequences associated with their production. Meanwhile, the nations that exported those products are left with the emissions for those products, politically speaking.
If emissions moved with a product, political responsibility for the emissions would rest with the consuming nation. Pressure would then be on importing nations to push manufacturing nations to reduce the environmental impact of goods.
Tags: co2, emissions, Environment, g8, global warming, green house, Kyoto Protocol, manufacturing, paper trail, polluter pays, pollution, products, responsibility
August 3, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Just read an article by the BBC which hints towards the need for a concept like attached emissions.
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(Love it when you find confirmation of your logic!)