Global Warming: Impact of Greenhouse Gases on Earth - Essay Sample

Introduction

The issue of global warming as a result of the daily increase in the emission of greenhouse gases has become of grave concern to both official and private organizations concerned with environmental conservation. Greenhouse gases which include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together with some of the synthetic chemicals, play an essential role in enhancing global warming by trapping some of the outgoing energy from the earth's surface hence retaining heat in the atmosphere. The variations in the concentrations of the greenhouse gases lead to increased warming; thus, in the end, influencing various aspects of climate. Most of the developed nations have implemented state rules and regulations to control the emission of industrial greenhouse gases and that has become an obligation towards the achievement of the national goals c. There have also been recommendations by environmental activists advocating for the use of green energy to avoid the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The United States, for instance, has mandated the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the judicial system the legal obligation to enhance the regulation of emission of greenhouse gases.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

There were proposed regulations even though some regulations were also finalized following the authority that was granted to EPA to engage in the direct supervision of the emission of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act which was clarified in the U.S Supreme Court decision of 2007 in Massachusetts versus EPA. There have also been set regulations for the emission of greenhouse gases from vehicles and engines. EPA has finalized rules that affect the efficiency of motor vehicle fuel as well as emissions from power plants. On the other hand, some of the policies that have been implemented as approaches towards the issue of global warming and greenhouse gases emission are the carbon tax as well as the cap and trade policies. These policies formulated work as approaches towards adopting technologies of clean energy. The cap and trade policy of regulating the number of greenhouse gases emitted works based on limiting the total amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted annually (Nanda, 2017). The cap and trade policy has grown to become stringent over the years as it is the approach that has been likened by most scientists as the ultimate approach towards the control of global warming.

The cap and trade policy, together with the carbon tax policy, are all alternative approaches that have been implemented as market incentive measures towards the reduction of emissions. The cap and trade policy is strict on the amount of discharge that is guaranteed even though the system does not determine the cost of reducing emissions to such level because that is left to be accomplished in the marketplace. However, the carbo tax policy is the equivalent of the cap and trade policy in the sense that other than regulating the amount of emission that is appropriate, the system provides the specific prices for the emissions (Nanda, 2017). Therefore, organizations that operate within the umbrella of the cap and trade policy have to consider the balance of reducing the rate of their discharge against the tax they are supposed to pay in case of continued emission from their current state of release.

Some of the arguments surrounding the issue of global warming and greenhouse gas emission regulation are the policies of control for the rate of emission especially between the applicability of the carbon tax and the cap and trade policies. The controversy between the two systems is that under any circumstance that the reduction of emissions proves to be complicated than the expectations of the emission analyst then the results within the cap and trade policy are supposed to be higher compliance costs and limited production of other commodities that are of value even though the outcomes as per the carbon tax policy would imply fewer emissions and more significant risks of damage as a result of global warming (Green & Denniss, 2018). Hence, the arguments have been on the choice between the two market-based measures because they call for the determination of the possible consequences.

Additionally, there is also controversy that rulemaking approach of the EPA that seems to be rigid and instructs firms on the possible means they need to embrace to limit their emissions besides explaining how accomplish such by implementing cost-effective approaches other than the market-based measures which discourage technological innovation and does not provide any financial incentive for firms to limit their emissions of greenhouse gases below the recommended levels (Green & Denniss, 2018). Therefore, the arguments on the issue of global warming and greenhouse gas emission regulation rely based on the carbon-pricing policy which should account for all the sources of emission. Generally, investors acknowledge the fact that failures in the market are likely to hamper investments in energy efficiency or alternatives to clean energy even with a rigid price for carbon.

References

Green, F., & Denniss, R. (2018). Cutting with both arms of the scissors: the economic and political case for restrictive supply-side climate policies. Climatic Change, 150(1-2), 73-87.

Nanda, V. P. (2017). Climate Change, Developing Countries, and Human Rights: An International Law Perspective. In Climate Change and Environmental Ethics (pp. 145-170). Routledge.

Paul, M. C. (2019). Greenhouse Effect and Climate Change in EU Legislation. JL & Admin. Sci., 11, 32.