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(August 11, 2004, THE WOODLANDS, TX) The Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) has become the first non-profit research organization in the greater Houston area, and second in the nation, to join the innovative market for carbon emissions management known as the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). Based in The Woodlands, Texas, HARC is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing technologies and policies to improve people's lives and protect the environment.
Founded in 2003, the Chicago Climate Exchange is an independent exchange that administers the world's first multi-national and multi-sector marketplace for reducing and trading greenhouse gas emissions. CCX represents the first voluntary, legally-binding commitment by a cross section of North American corporations, municipalities and other institutions to establish a rules-based market for reducing greenhouse gases. With members such as IBM, Ford Motor Company, Dupont, Motorola, the City of Chicago, and the World Resources Institute, the CCX provides an ideal structure for advancing market-based solutions to the increasingly important issue of global climate change. To date the exchange has traded more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. HARC joins more than 50 organizations in the North America in this initiative.
"HARC is exploring ways to positively address carbon management issues," said Todd Mitchell, HARC's President, "so it makes sense for us to interact with the leaders in industry focusing on the issues. The CCX brings a market reality to the carbon discussion. As a small non-profit, we don't generate significant greenhouse gas emissions, but our people wanted to make the commitment to reducing our carbon footprint in our daily activities. We hope to learn as an organization and share our experience with companies and governments in the region."
As an associate member of the CCX, HARC will quantify its carbon footprint and then make specific commitments to reduce those emissions over the next five years. HARC expects that most of its emissions savings will come from improving the energy efficiency of its building infrastructure, with smaller gains in activities such as travel. Under the rules of the exchange, HARC will purchase carbon financial instruments (CFIs) to offset carbon emissions from a selection of business related activities.
HARC's participation in the CCX underscores HARC's commitment to air quality and climate issues in the region. HARC serves as the research management organization for the Texas Environmental Research Consortium (TERC). Funded by state and federal agencies, TERC seeks to improve air quality science and modeling in ways that help Texas cities meet federal air quality standards. HARC also manages an industry-sponsored hydrogen fuel cell test and evaluation center; a high performance green building program; and a program, funded by EPA, to explore ways of reducing the transportation sector's contribution to urban air pollution. HARC has recently released the first report of the Cool Houston initiative, a roadmap for reducing Houston's "urban heat island effect" through cooler roofing and paving options and urban reforestation.
Please contact Brian Yeoman at phone number (281) 364-6094 or email: byeoman@harc.edu for more information.
For more information about HARC, go to www.harc.edu
For more information about CCX, go to www.chicagoclimatex.com
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| Page Updated/Reviewed: 08/11/2004 |
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