Editing Emissions trading (section)

===United States===
====Sulfur dioxide====
{{main|Acid Rain Program}}
An early example of an emission trading system has been the [[sulfur dioxide]] (SO<sub>2</sub>) trading system under the framework of the [[Acid Rain Program]] of the 1990 [[Clean Air Act (1990)|Clean Air Act]] in the U.S. Under the program, which is essentially a cap-and-trade emissions trading system, SO<sub>2</sub> emissions were reduced by 50% from 1980 levels by 2007.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp07.html
|title=Acid Rain Program 2007 Progress Report
|work=Clean Air Markets - Air & Radiation
|publisher=US EPA
|date=January 2009
|access-date=2011-07-25
|archive-date=2011-05-01
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501114253/http://www.epa.gov/airmarkt/progress/arp07.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Some experts argue that the cap-and-trade system of SO<sub>2</sub> emissions reduction has reduced the cost of controlling acid rain by as much as 80% versus source-by-source reduction.<ref name="stavins98"/><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carlson | first1 = Curtis | last2 = Burtraw | first2 = Dallas | last3 = Cropper | first3 = Maureen | last4 = Palmer | first4 = Karen L. | year = 2000 | title = Sulfur dioxide control by electric utilities: What are the gains from trade? | url = http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/10790/files/dp980044.pdf| journal = Journal of Political Economy | volume = 108 | issue = 6| pages = 1292–1326 | doi=10.1086/317681| s2cid = 3037737 }}</ref> The SO<sub>2</sub> program was challenged in 2004, which set in motion a series of events that led to the 2011 [[Cross-State Air Pollution Rule]] (CSAPR).  Under the CSAPR, the national SO<sub>2</sub> trading program was replaced by four separate trading groups for SO<sub>2</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub>.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/
 |title       = Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR)
 |date        = 2011-07-09
 |access-date  = 2011-07-10
 |publisher   = United States Environment Protection Agency
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711010737/http://www.epa.gov/crossstaterule/
 |archive-date = 2011-07-11
}}</ref>
SO<sub>2</sub> emissions from Acid Rain Program sources have fallen from 17.3 million tons in 1980 to about 7.6 million tons in 2008, a decrease in emissions of 56 percent.  A 2014 EPA analysis estimated that implementation of the Acid Rain Program avoided between 20,000 and 50,000 incidences of premature mortality annually due to reductions of ambient PM2.5 concentrations, and between 430 and 2,000 incidences annually due to reductions of ground-level ozone.<ref name="ex" />{{failed verification|date=June 2017}}

====Nitrogen oxides====
In 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began to administer the {{NOx}} Budget Trading Program (NBP) under the {{NOx}} State Implementation Plan (also known as the "NOx SIP Call"). The {{NOx}} Budget Trading Program was a market-based cap and trade program created to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO<sub>x</sub>) from power plants and other large combustion sources in the eastern United States. NO<sub>x</sub> is a prime ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone ([[smog]]), a pervasive air pollution problem in many areas of the eastern United States. The NBP was designed to reduce NO<sub>x</sub> emissions during the warm summer months, referred to as the ozone season, when ground-level ozone concentrations are highest.<ref>[https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/nox-budget-trading-program "NOx Budget Trading Program"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426055618/https://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/nox-budget-trading-program |date=2017-04-26 }}, Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 25 April 2017.</ref> In March 2008, EPA again strengthened the 8-hour ozone standard to 0.075 parts per million (ppm) from its previous 0.08 ppm.<ref>[https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/ozone_fact_sheet.pdf "Ozone Fact Sheet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222022508/https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-08/documents/ozone_fact_sheet.pdf |date=2017-02-22 }}, Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 25 April 2017.</ref>

Ozone season {{NOx}} emissions decreased by 43 percent between 2003 and 2008, even while energy demand remained essentially flat during the same period. CAIR will result in $85 billion to $100 billion in health benefits and nearly $2 billion in visibility benefits per year by 2015 and will substantially reduce premature mortality in the eastern United States.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BGC Environmental Brokerage Service {{!}} Environment {{!}} Clean Air Interstate Rule |url=http://www.bgcebs.com/Emissions/?page=USAComp_CAIR |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.bgcebs.com}}</ref>
NOx reductions due to the {{NOx}} Budget Trading Program have led to improvements in ozone and PM2.5, saving an estimated 580 to 1,800 lives in 2008.<ref name="ex">{{cite web
|title=Cap and Trade
|url=http://www.epa.gov/captrade/
|publisher=United States Environmental Protection Agency
|access-date=27 October 2014
|archive-date=8 November 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108041221/http://www.epa.gov/captrade/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=June 2017}}

A 2017 study in the ''[[The American Economic Review|American Economic Review]]'' found that the {{NOx}} Budget Trading Program decreased {{NOx}} emissions and ambient ozone concentrations.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|first1=Olivier|last1=Deschênes|first2=Michael|last2=Greenstone|last3=Shapiro|first3= Joseph|date=2017|title=Defensive Investments and the Demand for Air Quality: Evidence from the NOx Budget Program|journal=American Economic Review|volume=107|issue=10|pages=2958–2989|doi=10.1257/aer.20131002|issn=0002-8282|doi-access=free}}</ref> The program reduced expenditures on medicine by about 1.5% ($800 million annually) and reduced the mortality rate by up to 0.5% (2,200 fewer premature deaths, mainly among individuals 75 and older).<ref name=":2" />

====Volatile organic compounds====
[[File:Classification List of Organic Pollutants.png|thumb|276x276px|Classification of Organic Pollutants]]
In the United States the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) classifies [[Volatile organic compound|Volatile Organic Compounds]] (VOCs) as gases emitted from certain solids and liquids that may have adverse health effects.<ref name="EPA, OAR, ORIA, IED">{{Cite web|url=https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality|title=Volatile Organic Compounds' Impact on Indoor Air Quality {{!}} US EPA|last=EPA, OAR, ORIA, IED|first=US|website=US EPA|date=18 August 2014|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-date=2017-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122160317/https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality|url-status=live}}</ref> These VOCs include a variety of chemicals that are emitted from a variety of different products.<ref name="EPA, OAR, ORIA, IED"/> These include products such as gasoline, perfumes, hair spray, fabric cleaners, PVC, and refrigerants; all of which can contain chemicals such as benzene, acetone, methylene chloride, freons, formaldehyde.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/voc.htm|title=Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Commonly Used Products|website=www.health.ny.gov|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111012716/https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/voc.htm|archive-date=2018-01-11|url-status=dead}}</ref>

VOCs are also monitored by the [[United States Geological Survey]] for its presence in groundwater supply.<ref name="Synthesis">{{Cite web|url=https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/vocs/national_assessment/report/chapter1.html|title=Chapter 1 - Major Findings and Conclusions|last=Synthesis|first=NAWQA VOC National|website=water.usgs.gov|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-date=2017-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518023924/https://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/vocs/national_assessment/report/chapter1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The USGS concluded that many of the nations aquifers are at risk to low-level VOC contamination.<ref name="Synthesis"/> The common symptoms of short levels of exposure to VOCs include headaches, nausea, and eye irritation.<ref name="health.state.mn.us">{{Cite web|url=http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/voc/|title=Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in Your Home - EH: Minnesota Department of Health|website=www.health.state.mn.us|access-date=2017-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201030617/http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/voc/|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=dead}}</ref> If exposed for an extended period of time the symptoms include cancer and damage to the central nervous system.<ref name="health.state.mn.us"/>