Eight N.C. companies and organizations have joined The Climate Registry, a North American attempt to track and reduce greenhouses gases.
The eight — which include the state of North Carolina and utility giant Duke Energy — were among 270 organizations that the N.C. Division of Air Quality urged to join the registry. Groups joining before May 1 were identified as founding reporters.
North Carolina is one of 40 states that have joined the voluntary registry, a transnational attempt to measure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that also includes Canadian provinces, Mexican states and Native American nations.
The data is intended to help states track progress in reducing emissions, while encouraging market-based approaches toward coping with climate change, the Division of Air Quality said. Proponents say the registry will help participating organizations become more efficient and give them a head start on complying with future government regulations.
Saunders Thread Company in Gastonia joined the registry April 23. “Like everyone else, we’re concerned about the environment and what may or may not be happening, and just felt like if we could do anything by reporting that we would participate,” said Charles Saunders, company president.
Tom Mather, a state air quality division spokesman, said the benefits will likely come in the future. “If we get to a point where reporting is required or regulated, then there might be some benefit to members being able to document that they’ve reduced their emissions and possibly get credits,” Mather said. Such credits could then be sold to companies looking for help meeting government regulations.
Richard Newell, a professor of energy and environmental economics at Duke University, says such registry agreements are valuable, but “eventually, in absence of any kind of mandatory federal-level or state-level program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these types of programs are not going to be very effective.”
Congress has yet to pass legislation that mandates reduction of greenhouses gases, but nearly a dozen related bills were introduced last year in the Senate.
Duke Energy agreed in January to participate in the registry. The utility has already been reporting its emissions — it started giving such data to the U.S. Department of Energy and to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1995.
According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Duke Energy Carolinas accounts for about 0.7 percent of total U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, and about 0.6 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Duke has drawn sharp criticism from environmental activists over its construction of a new coal-fired unit at its Cliffside plant.
Next year, N.C. companies that emit a higher amounts of greenhouse gases will be required to report emissions to state authorities, Mather said.
Greenhouse gases contribute to ozone levels. So far this year, ozone levels have exceeded federal standards one day, April 18, said Joan Liu, program manager for Mecklenburg County Air Quality.
Ozone season usually begins May 1.
Mather said the Division of Air Quality plans to send letters to about 1,800 smaller pollution sources as well as organizations that don’t have pollution permits.
N.C. members of The Climate Registry:
Cormetech, Inc. (Durham) Manufactures catalysts for selective catalytic reduction control systems used to control nitrogen oxide from large boilers such as those used at coal-fired power plants.
N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (Raleigh)
Duke Energy (Charlotte)
Progress Energy (Raleigh)
DAK Americas LLC (Charlotte) Manufactures products used in the production of various textiles.
Saunders Thread (Gastonia) Manufactures threads and yarns.
CommScope, Inc. (Hickory) Manufactures cable products.
Davidson College (Davidson)
This article appears in May 14-20, 2008.
