EE Noon: The Role of Offsets in an Emissions Reduction Program

EE Noon is a regular series of brown-bag lunch seminars in which industry leaders share their expertise about energy efficiency. The seminars feature short presentations followed by a question and answer session.

The Role of Offsets in an Emissions Reduction Program

This EE Noon will explore the questions surrounding carbon offsets, credit for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions outside a cap. Kyle Danish, who represents the Coalition for Emission Reduction Projects, and Janet Peace, Vice President for Markets and Business Strategy at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, will present and take questions at this brown bag event, which will be moderated by Lowell Ungar, the Alliance’s Director of Policy.

Last year saw a series of policy proposals for addressing climate change, most of which tapped offset projects as a significant method for meeting emission reduction requirements. What role can offsets play in cost-containment under a program to reduce emissions? How can we ensure that offsets are real and additional, so that reliance on offset projects doesn’t weaken a cap on emissions? What role can energy efficiency play in an offsets regime? Our speakers will address these issues and participate in a facilitated discussion with the audience.

Presenters

Kyle Danish, Counsel, Coalition for Emission Reduction Projects

Kyle Danish advises a range of clients on environmental matters, with a special focus on corporate climate strategy, emissions trading-related transactions, and regulation under the Clean Air Act. His clients include electric generation, oil and gas, and mineral exploration companies, financial institutions, offset providers, manufacturers, industry coalitions, and think tanks. Mr. Danish provides counsel to the Coalition for Emission Reduction Projects, a group of companies advocating for carbon offsets as a central part of a U.S. system regulating greenhouse gas emissions.  The Coalition consists of companies from the energy, manufacturing, financial, and agricultural sectors.  He is a frequent speaker and has published numerous articles on global warming and emissions trading issues. Mr. Danish also has authored several commissioned research papers on climate change and energy policy.

Janet Peace, Vice President, Markets and Business Strategy, Pew Center on Global Climate Change

Janet Peace is the Vice President of Markets and Business Strategy at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.  In this role she manages the Center's Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC), the largest US-based association of companies devoted to climate-related policy and corporate strategies. The BELC includes 44 mainly Fortune 500 companies with combined revenues of over $2 trillion and over 4 million employees. She also manages the Center's engagement in the Offset Quality Initiative, a multi-group effort to address a key climate policy element believed by the Center to be necessary for a credible and robust carbon market.  She is deeply involved with the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) in its effort promote a sensible and effective U.S. climate policy.