Title: Evolution of marketable permits: the US experience with sulphur dioxide allowance trading

Authors: Brian J. McLean

Addresses: Director, Acid Rain Division, US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA

Abstract: The Sulfur Dioxide Allowance Programme, created under Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, is the first national market-based approach to environmental management employed in the United States and represents a radical departure from both the traditional regulatory approach to environmental policy and from previous emissions trading efforts. This paper reviews the goals of the SO₂ allowance programme and the results after its first full year of operation, discusses the context for the establishment of the programme and its critical design features, and identifies some lessons learned from implementing this large-scale emissions trading programme.

Keywords: air pollution; allowance trading; emissions trading; environmental policy; marketable permits; sulphur dioxide; United States; USA; environmental management; environmental pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.1997.028156

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 1997 Vol.8 No.1/2, pp.19 - 36

Published online: 15 Sep 2009 *

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