Entire Book - Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research ...
Entire Book - Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research ...
Entire Book - Southwest Consortium for Environmental Research ...
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Improving Transboundary Air Quality with<br />
Binational Emission Reduction Credit Trading<br />
In theory, any of the three basic regulatory approaches can result<br />
in optimal pollution abatement. Command-and-control, however,<br />
requires that a single decision-maker—the regulator—have specific<br />
knowledge of conditions at each emission site. In practice, it is<br />
unlikely that regulators will have access to such detailed (and often<br />
proprietary) in<strong>for</strong>mation, making it unlikely that an optimal policy<br />
will be implemented. By contrast, both corrective taxes and permit<br />
trading rely on decentralized decision-making. Polluters respond<br />
directly to market incentives by setting emission levels. Changes in<br />
market conditions change incentives, which result in individual<br />
decision-makers dynamically adjusting emissions over time. Such<br />
dynamic adjustment occurs only with a delay, if at all, under command-and-control<br />
because changes in regulations must be approved<br />
through a lengthy procedure.<br />
COORDINATING POLICY ON THE BORDER<br />
The Paso del Norte illustrates the problem faced by many twin cities<br />
along the U.S.-Mexican border: The environmental fates of border<br />
cities are not under their sole control, but rather depend upon the<br />
policies adopted by governments and implemented by industries in<br />
their twin city on the other side of the border. Circumstances—<br />
rapid industrialization, population growth, and unfavorable topography—conspire<br />
to make the problem more acute in El Paso-Ciudad<br />
Juárez, but the issues faced in the Paso del Norte region are the same<br />
issues that must be dealt with by other communities on the border.<br />
If air quality goals are to be met, there is a need <strong>for</strong> policy coordination<br />
between the United States and Mexico.<br />
There are special difficulties in coordinating policy on the border<br />
that are not present in other venues. First are the language differences<br />
and other cultural misunderstandings that people communicating<br />
across the border must overcome. At the local level, this is a<br />
lesser problem than might be expected because the border has developed<br />
its own unique binational culture. Economic and social border<br />
criss-crossing is common. Both English and Spanish are commonly<br />
spoken. Binational sport leagues, philanthropic clubs, and other<br />
social organizations can be found (Barry 1994). It is usual <strong>for</strong><br />
assembly plants located on the Mexican side of the border, called<br />
8