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October 27, 1998 Climate Task Force Principles for Early ActionThe term "early action" refers to a suite of voluntary steps that could be taken before any domestic or international binding requirements are in place. Voluntary efforts by businesses and consumers to protect the climate could be facilitated by a systematic legislative approach to stimulate early action. The following principles should be considered in designing a flexible program that broadly encourages measures to protect the climate. Members of the Task Force envision that the award of formal credit is but one part of the whole early action program. In addition, members believe that an early action strategy must evolve over time in response to advances in scientific knowledge and technology. These principles do not presume a decision as to whether the United States should become a party to the Kyoto Protocol. The potential benefits of early action justify the program on its own merits. 1. Appropriate incentives for early action to protect the climate An early action strategy should aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Any program should ensure that those that take or have taken voluntary steps to protect the climate are rewarded and not inadvertently penalized for their efforts. Market-based incentives, fiscal policies, federal funding, procurement policies, regulations, and public recognition should be combined into a coherent effort that effectively stimulates early action. 2. Broadly-based participation Incentives for early action should encourage activities that protect the climate with the broadest possible level of participation by business, communities, government agencies, academia, non-governmental organizations, and individuals. These incentives should facilitate the formation of partnerships and the leveraging of resources among participants. 3. Learning, innovation, flexibility, and experimentation The program should accommodate economic growth while contributing to the achievement of significant emissions reductions by encouraging flexibility, innovation, and experimentation to facilitate learning about cost-effective ways to protect the climate. Policy should allow a broad menu of options that can also result in environmental and societal benefits for all segments of the population. 4.Formal credit for greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts As part of the overall early action strategy, formal credit should be granted to early actors for legitimate and verifiable measures that reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions relative to defined benchmarks. Those undertaking these efforts should receive assurances that earned credits can be applied towards future reduction obligations. The program ultimately needs to be codified to provide certainty to these actors. Formal credit for domestic actions should be issued with the understanding that these credits are allocated from any future limit on U.S. emissions. 5. Accountability for emissions Dependable measurement techniques and credible reporting methods should be used to account for claimed emissions reductions. Policies to grant formal credit should aim to keep transaction costs and risks low while ensuring the integrity of awarded credits. 6. Compatibility with other climate protection strategies and environmental goals The design of an early action program should be compatible with other domestic or international strategies to protect the climate and with other environmental goals. 7. Government leadership Governments should demonstrate leadership in an early action program by achieving significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions from their activities, relative to their defined benchmarks. Climate Task Force Membership John Adams Natural Resources Defense Council The Honorable Aida Alvarez U.S. Small Business Administration Ray C. Anderson Council Co-Chair Interface, Inc. The Honorable D. James Baker Task Force Co-Chair National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce Richard Barth Novartis (Retired) The Honorable Carol M. Browner U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Richard Clarke (retired) Pacific Gas and Electric Scott Bernstein Center for Neighborhood Technology David T. Buzzelli The Dow Chemical Company The Honorable Andrew Cuomo U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development The Honorable William M. Daley U.S. Department of Commerce Dianne Dillon-Ridgley Women's Environment and Development Organization E. Linn Draper, Jr. America Electric Power Judith Espinosa Alliance for Transportation Research The Honorable Randall Franke Marion County,OR The Honorable Dan Glickman U.S. Department of Agriculture The Honorable Sherry Goodman U.S. Department of Defense Jay D. Hair National Wildlife Federation Samuel C. Johnson SC Johnson Wax Fred Krupp Environmental Defense Fund Jonathan Lash Council Co-Chair Task Force Co-Chair World Resources Institute Kenneth Lay Enron Corporation Harry J. Pearce General Motors Corporation Steve Percy Task Force Co-Chair BP America, Inc. Michele Perrault Sierra Club The Honorable Bill Richardson U.S. Department of Energy The Honorable Richard W. Riley U.S. Department of Education The Honorable Richard E. Rominger U.S. Department of Agriculture The Honorable Susan Savage City of Tulsa, Office of the Mayor John C. Sawhill The Nature Conservancy The Honorable Rodney Slater U.S. Department of Transportation Theodore Strong Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission ![[PCSD HOME]](../../home.gif){kind=small}
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