Once the Climate Change Act of 2008 was signed, the British carbon initiative was off to the races. This program is likely to get a lot of attention worldwide as it is very forward thinking and sure to make a significant impact in the near future. In this case, the British have set the precedent.

The UK government has announced its aims following the passage of the Climate Change Act. The British carbon plans seek “to improve carbon management and help the transition towards a low carbon economy in the UK and to demonstrate strong UK leadership internationally, signaling that we are committed to taking our share of responsibility for reducing global emissions in the context of developing negotiations on a post-2012 global agreement at Copenhagen next year.”

Acting immediately, the government has shown that the British carbon reduction plans were moved in advance of a landmark, post-Kyoto Protocol agreement expected in a couple of years. Scientific evidence has shown an acceleration of the problems at the root of climate change dilemmas and it is likely that similar aggressive actions will be needed by many nations worldwide.

The Climate Change Act establishes a carbon budgeting system which will help the UK government move towards the achievement of a considerable goal — to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by the year 2050. The budgeting system includes projects that run over a set of five years and the first budgets are set to run between 2008 and 2022.

It is interesting to note that the British carbon legislators stated that they will have regard to the need for UK domestic action on climate change, meaning that any subsequent international measures would be gauged alongside and in deference.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment is the first legislative emissions trading scheme of its kind and followed quickly on the heels of the signing of the Climate Change Act of 2008. For those who qualify, mandatory participation is required but there are many economic incentives for those who can over-perform within the project.

While the fact that only 5000 organizations are participating in the UK’s “cap and trade” scheme may seem a rather low number, it should be noted that these organizations represent significant contributors to the problem through a large consumption of electricity. As a means to address carbon emissions and climate change, it will be interesting to see how market forces can really help.

Legislators in the United States are looking with keen interest at the British carbon reduction plans, as they themselves consider the passage of similar legislation designed to introduce a cap and trade system domestically. However, within the USA it seems that such sweeping action is not likely to be taken without a considerable process of debate and delay.

Daniel Stouffer has a great deal of information about British carbon and how a visit to www.verisae.com will aid you.