Ohio's environmental practices might be looking at a makeover as two Ohio universities use a state grant to explore the risks and benefits of carbon-related climate change policy.
Ohio University and Ohio State University researchers have received a $500,000 grant that will allow them to scrutinize gas emissions and their effects on Ohio's environment, economy and future. The research team will study carbon emission trends in Ohio, possible climate change legislation and the effects the
legislation could have on Ohio's economy.
This issue is especially important for Ohio, which is the sixth-largest energy consuming state in the United States after Texas, California, Florida, New York and Illinois, said Scott Miller, both the project director and director of Energy and Environmental programs at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. He added Ohio has the highest carbon emissions after Texas, California and Pennsylvania.
Ohio is a carbon-intensive state
said Mark Shanahan, the governor's energy adviser and executive director of Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. Climate change legislation could change that.
One bill that is being considered is the Waxman-Markey Bill, which would implement a cap and trade system - essentially placing a limit on the amount of carbon an organization is allowed to emit, and permitting a company to sell whatever percentage of that limit it doesn't use.
Although this practice currently takes place on a narrow basis, the benefits could soar with the passage of this legislation, Miller said. He estimates that the allowance for a ton of carbon emission, which might have been sold for 40 cents, reach a value of $100 or more under the cap and trade system.
Opportunities like this one could help soften economic impact for companies required to emit less carbon and force them to change their practices and find ways to save energy.
Numerous questions have been posed about the risks, and Miller hopes the study will answer some of them.
All of that uncertainty coupled with the economic risk scares people
Miller said. That's why the state of Ohio would like to see a study like this.
After the state issued a request for proposal in December, asking for reports from research teams outlining potential strategies for studying climate change policy, the two Ohio universities decided to take action. Each school began to prepare an individual proposal before deciding to collaborate on the project, Miller said.
We immediately spoke with OU
and we quickly agreed to submit the proposal together
said Joseph Fiksel, executive director of OSU's Center of Resilience. And we were successful.
Fiksel estimated that between six and 10 proposals were submitted to the state. The selection committee announced Thursday it had chosen the universities' plan and awarded them a grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act State Energy Program to begin their proposed 12-month process.
Shanahan helped to select this topic for research and to choose the research team to complete the project. He will also review the information compiled by the university researchers.
The collaboration between the two universities will allow Ohio to join the climate change research that is being conducted across the United States.
It really sets the two institutions apart as the preeminent researchers when it comes to climate change policy and its economic impact
Miller said. This sets up this partnership as the go-to group for climate change research in Ohio.
The partnership will bring together four entities between the schools - the schools of public administration (OU's Voinovich School and OSU's John Glenn School of Public Affairs) as well as centers within the schools of engineering (OU's Center of Air Quality and OSU's Center of Resilience).
We saw strengths between the two organizations
Fiksel said.
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