Emissions trading: Quick Facts

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Photos

Thick smoke billows from an industrial smokestack, spreading across the sky and blending with clouds.

Side-by-side diagrams compare command-and-control and cap-and-trade approaches to pollution control. The left shows both Plant A and Plant B each reducing emissions by 50 tons, resulting in higher total costs. The right shows cap-and-trade, where Plant A reduces emissions by 75 tons and Plant B by 25 tons, with Plant B paying Plant A for extra reductions, leading to lower overall costs. Emission levels, reduction amounts, and costs are labeled for both methods.

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Topics

cap-and-trade mechanism pollution control wastewater treatment solid-waste management air pollution control hazardous-waste management Carbon offset