Clearing the Air with Industrial Audits

This statement from the Climate Policy Initiative discusses the role of industrial audits and data transparency in maximizing the public health and environmental benefits of California's cap and trade system.

• California's cap and trade system, starting in 2013, aims to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, which represents a 6% decrease from 2009 levels and a 12% decrease from the 2007 peak.
• The California Air Resources Board requires large facilities to perform industrial audits to identify energy efficiency opportunities that can reduce both greenhouse gas and local air pollution emissions.
• Publicly available, detailed data from industrial audits can enable advocates and the public to pressure facilities to implement energy efficiency improvements, which are identified as one of the best strategies for public health because they reduce both local air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Transparency regarding facility emissions and efficiency can drive improvements; for example, the Environmental Protection Agency's release of facility-level greenhouse gas emissions data earlier in the year increased pressure on the largest emitters to improve their environmental performance.
• While facility managers may claim that publicizing audit data reveals competitive secrets, such transparency can incentivize facilities to upgrade outdated technologies and allow them to replicate low-cost pollution-reducing best practices.

APA

Staff, C. (2012). Clearing the Air with Industrial Audits. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/clearing-the-air-with-industrial-audits/

Chicago

Staff, CPI. Clearing the Air with Industrial Audits. Climate Policy Initiative, 2012. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/clearing-the-air-with-industrial-audits/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Staff |first1=CPI |title=Clearing the Air with Industrial Audits |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=18 October 2012 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/clearing-the-air-with-industrial-audits/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{staff2012clearing, author = {Staff, CPI}, title = {{Clearing the Air with Industrial Audits}}, publisher = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2012}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/clearing-the-air-with-industrial-audits/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }