The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) on Friday announced its decision to enlarge its membership by enlisting California universities.
As part of the move, the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) has become the first campus on the West Coast to join the CCX, the environmental organization said in a statement.
The CCX is North America's only voluntary, legally binding trading system to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. UCSD is only the 7th university in the nation to join the climate exchange.
Joining the CCX is part of UCSD's aggressive program to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG). Trading in GHG contracts may become mandatory for large institutions in North America, as it already is in the European Union. By becoming the first West Coast university to begin GHG trading, the UCSD gets a head start in what is becoming an important global sustainability mechanism.
"Because we've become much more energy efficient and generate most of our own power, our campus can now sell surplus greenhouse gas credits on an open market," said Steven Relyea, UCSD Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs.
"This not only shows our commitment to green practices and reducing our carbon footprint, but also our commitment to employing innovative, leading-edge technology. In the future, many major institutions and corporations may be involved in climate exchange trading." he said.
"As a major research university with a legacy of identifying the problems of climate change, we feel we need to be a leader in identifying solutions." he added.
The university entered into a commitment with the CCX to reduce GHG emissions to baseline levels through 2010. UCSD's co-generation facility, one of the largest and most efficient university-owned co-generation plants in California, should allow the campus to cut emissions beyond the baseline level, and then trade the excess on the CCX's open market. The commodity traded at the CCX is a contract that represents the equivalent of 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
The CCX is what's known as a "cap-and-trade" emission trading system, because it mandates an emissions limit or cap. An institution that goes below the limit can sell its surplus, while those above the limit can buy surplus credits from other traders. The system provides direct financial incentives for effective conservation and for new renewable energy technology.
The UCSD operates a cogeneration facility that supplies about 90 percent of the campus's electricity, making it less reliant on commercial utilities. Cogeneration uses one fuel source -- naturalgas -- to produce two forms of energy -- electricity and heat. The plant is equipped with state-of-the-art pollution controls that produce 75 percent less smog emissions than conventional natural gas power plants.
In addition to saving approximately 8 million dollars per year in energy purchases, UCSD's cogeneration plant helps reduce reliance on out-of -state coal-burning power generation.
Source: Xinhua
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