Jane Burston, Head of the Centre for Carbon Measurement at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), explains why emissions trading is one of the best ways of curbing emissions and the role measurement can play in making it a success, in the latest issue of Insights - Beyond measurement.

Emissions trading provides financial incentives to reduce emissions and invest in green technology. If implemented well, it drives investment for emissions reductions to the place where the emissions reductions are cheapest, reducing the cost to the economy of meeting climate targets. However, like many market-based policies, it is not without its challenges and opportunities for abuse. Good measurement is vital to ensure that the system remains fair and reliable.

Measurement is also important for testing the effectiveness of new technologies for emissions reduction such as carbon capture and storage, where carbon dioxide is captured, for example from a power station chimney, and then pumped underground. NPL has a number of techniques that can be developed to monitor this process and check for any carbon dioxide leaks, including the Differential Absorption Lidar facility that uses optical technologies to generate a 3D map of emissions and calculate their concentrations.

Jane Burston says:

"Measurement is vitally important but does not exist in isolation. The system needs support and input from business and politicians to design it effectively, from scientists to underpin it and make it reliable and trusted, and from the general public to motivate everyone to make it work."

Jane Burston is also quoted in an article in MIT Technology Review on 'Europe's Carbon Trading Problems May Influence U.S. Climate Policy'.

Find out more about the Centre for Carbon Measurement at NPL.

Read the article in full in Insights - Beyond Measurement, NPL's magazine exploring how the science and technology community in the UK can come together to deliver world class science that can change the way we live our lives and do business.