Table des matières a voc trading Market for the Basle Region 4

There have been several attempts in recent years to incorporate tradable permits in Swiss environmental policy. In the context of energy policy, thought has been given to the concept of a system of tradable quotas designed to reduce the specific consumption of energy-intensive installations, vehicles or appliances. This approach was proposed in two expert reports commissioned by the Swiss Federal Energy Bureau (Metron 1992; Infras 1994). Permits (called "certificates") were the only economic instrument singled out in the energy bill submitted to parliament, thus suggesting that they were viewed as a key mean of action. The word certificate was subsequently deleted from the final version of the law. A two-stage solution was finally adopted for motor vehicles (ORCA): first, the Federal Government unilaterally set a goal of a 15 per cent reduction in consumption for new vehicles registered by the year 2001. If the goal is not reached by this date, the Federal Government could for example impose a comprehensive fleet goal on importers, comparable to the CAFE programme in the US.

In the canton of Valais, the various circles concerned by the air quality issue have proposed the establishment of "regional emission clubs" allowing trade in pollutants between the various sources located in a given area. This proposal was aimed at reducing corporate abatement costs and hence attaining air quality goals more efficiently. An exploratory study carried out in an area straddling the border between the cantons of Vaud and Valais showed that emission trading would result in large cost-savings. However, this idea has not materialised because the Federal Government has not accepted to ease emission standards - the prerequisite for the operation of the "regional clubs".

The system of emission trading for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) introduced in the Basle region in 1992 is the first experiment of its kind in Europe. It has run into many problems and trading has been very limited to date. The following report will deal only with the Basle emission trading program, "emission clubs" in Valais and the exploratory study on a NOx trading market in the Chablais region.