OTAG News Release w Brian Jantzi - Atlanta 1997 -- US Ozone Transport Assessment Group -

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• published: 24 May 2012
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OTAG Video News Release (OTAG-VNR, Public Domain), Atlanta Georgia, June 1997. Brian Jantzi's VNR interview appears at 19:30-20:45 minutes. His complete interview is appended at 27:45-39:00 minutes running time. OTAG was a milestone multi-stakeholder process that assessed & modelled cross-border air pollution transport and developed cross-state smog policy options for US EPA consideration. OTAG ran 1996-1997 and involved 37 eastern US States, USEPA's Assistant Administrator, Mary Nichols, and more than 700 stakeholders. Significant improvements to US and Canadian air quality have occurred since OTAG produced its recommendations. However, smog still contributes to the premature deaths of 9,500 Ontarians and more than 100,000 Americans, untold hospital admissions, and more than 100 billion dollars in health costs and environmental damage each year. This 20 minute OTAG Public Domain Video News Release (VNR) includes interviews with key stakeholders, and graphics and animations of ozone episodes. Additional footage of Canadian interviews (Brian Jantzi & Steve Hart) is appended. Interviews were conducted by producer Ryan Schnarre of Walcoff & Associates. The OTAG VNR was used by US commercial news media reporting on smog progress, and by Public Broadcasting. Brian Jantzi was the sole Canadian OTAG participant - participating in the Trading & Incentives, Air Quality Modelling & Assessment, Policy, and Public Outreach working groups. He joined OTAG at the request of Mary Gade, Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Mary was OTAG Chair. Brian's invitation followed his significant contributions to the US Midwest Task Force on Interstate Emission Trading, Lake Michigan Air Directors' Consortium, and Council of Great Lakes States Governors in the early 1990s. During the term of OTAG, Brian initiated & completed the first international emission reduction trade, Michigan-to-Ontario (1996). This was followed with an Ontario-to-Connecticut emission reduction trade (1997). Assurances exchanged between the governments of Ontario, Michigan & Connecticut completed these demonstration transactions - common elements of trade were established. These and other emission reduction trades demonstrated how cross-border NOx trading could effectively work between the US and Canada, and between adjacent US states -- money flowing upwind and environmental benefit flowing downwind. The concept of emission trading (tradable permits) was originated by John Dales (University of Toronto, 1968). "Emission reduction trading" was based on an open-market trading concept developed by Ben Henneke (Oklahoma MERIT, 1993). The Ontario OTAG-linked NOx trades were publicly reviewed & registered by Ontario's multi-stakeholder pilot emission reduction trading initiative (PERT). After 9 years, 35 trades, more than 60 emission reduction creations, and the work of 600 participants from 103 organizations, PERT produced system design recommendations that led to Canada's first emission cap-and-trade legislation (Ontario Regulation 397, in 2001). Brian incorporated PERT in 2000 as Clean Air Canada Inc to operationalize and operate NOx, SO2 and carbon trading systems. Features included a project protocol review clearinghouse, an online registry and trading platform. Brian formed an Ontario-Quebec-Michigan Industry Working Group on Emission Trading (1993), and created the multi-stakeholder PERT project (1996) which morphed "emission reduction trading" into a hybrid cap-credit-and-trade system using Ontario Hydro's voluntary commitments as caps. Jantzi took this hybrid trading model to the UN Conference on Trade & Development, as a member of the CDM Advisory Committee. PERT's trading model was adopted as the Clean Development Mechanism under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Kyoto Protocols). Brian Jantzi originated the idea of using the global warming potential as an inter-pollutant emission trading exchange rate - establishing the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) as the basis of all greenhouse gas trade. This ensured that cash would flow proportionately according to the relative harm of a greenhouse gas. Using this concept, if carbon dioxide was worth $1/tonne, methane would be worth $21/tonne, and N20 $310,000/tonne. Brian Jantzi, with his colleague David Coates, pioneered with the first international CO2, CH4, N2O and SF6 trades (1996-2001). This gave birth to the international carbon market. The carbon market, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars per year, needs to grow to the tens of trillions of dollars if it is to have real impact on reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global climate change. Brian is widely recognized as the father of Canadian & International emission trading. He continues to advance innovative and collaborative solutions to transboundary air pollution and global climate change.