The momentum to take action against global warming is finally rising in the United States, although the nation still has a long way to go before a political consensus is reached on specific domestic measures — much less making an international commitment for cuts in its emission of greenhouse gases, U.S. think tank experts told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
The U.S. action will likely center on a market mechanism to put a price on the emission of carbon dioxide — either through a cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax — that will let companies and individuals, rather than the government, figure out ways to reduce emissions in the most cost-efficient ways, the experts said.
Five researchers from Washington-based think tanks were joined by Japanese experts at the Feb. 1 symposium organized by Keizai Koho Center under the theme, "U.S. policy on climate change and energy issues." The climate change policy of the United States, which pulled out of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, is being closely watched as nations around the world discuss a post-Kyoto international framework to address global warming.