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FREQUENTLY
ASKED
QUESTIONS
Don't see your question here? Please
email or call us at (562) 498-0585
Q.
What is the
Emission Credits Exchange all about?
A.
The Emission Credits Exchange
is an easy way to buy and sell emission credits in the
California RECLAIM market, the Chicago-area ERMS market, or
any of the air pollution regulatory agencies that have an
ERC market. We pride ourselves on our user-friendly site.
The Emission Credits Exchange is easy to use and understand.
Q.How do I register for the Emission Credits Exchange?
A.Visit our home page and select the
New Users option to fill out the registration form. You will
receive an email confirming our receipt of your application.
Once we approve your application, you will receive a second email
notifying you of your approval and inviting you to log-in and
explore the Emission Credits Exchange website.
Q.How does the Emission Credits Exchange work?
A.Once you are a registered and approved
Emission Credits Exchange member, you can fill out simple forms
to post buy and sell orders, respond to other's buy and sell
orders or just peruse the postings and see what the market is
doing. For a more detailed explanation, visit our "How the
Online Trading Forum Works" page.
Q.How do I place a buy or sell order?
A.There are two ways: You can post
an order to be placed on the listings so that everyone can see
and respond to it or you can respond to an already existing buy
or sell order. To post an order: login and click on the appropriate
link. You will be prompted to fill in a very simple form and
then asked to review your information before it is posted. If
you want to respond to a posted order: login and click "View
all Buy/Sell Orders". Select the market and either buy or
sell orders. Click on the item number to which you would like
to respond and fill out the simple form.
Q.What if I want to make changes to a buy or sell
order that I've already posted?
A.No problem. If your needs change,
you transacted a trade elsewhere, or you just made a mistake,
you can easily change your Emission Credits Exchange postings.
Just follow the links to modify an existing order. When you post
an order on the Emission Credits Exchange you always have the
final decision to accept a bid or offer and, until you do so,
you may modify your postings whenever you like.
Q.How long do I have to change or modify my posted
order?
A.You may modify your posted buy or
sell order any time until you accept a bid or offer from another
user or delete the order from the postings.
Q.
What if I change my mind when I've responded
to a buy or sell order?
A.When you respond to a buy or sell
order you are prompted to enter a time when your offer expires.
The party who posted the order to which you are responding has
until that time to decide if they want to accept your offer.
Until that time, you are obligated to complete the transaction
if they decide to accept your offer - much like a real estate
transaction. You may make the expiration time as short as five
minutes if you like, or as long as several years. Please see
our user agreement for more details.
Q.Do I have to sign my credits over to the Emission
Credits Exchange in order to post them for sale?
A.No. Unlike other services that require
you transfer credits to them or to their trust account, you will
always have control over your credits until you sell them. So
if you decide to sell them outside of the Emission Credits Exchange,
you will not have to struggle to have your own property returned
to you.
Q.Are there any fees to use the Emission Credits
Exchange website?
A.No. You may freely browse or post
to the Emission Credits Exchange on-line trading forum. If you
complete a trade on our site, you will be charged 3% of the transaction
value (with a $200 minimum) as well as any applicable document
fees (Ex: $56.98 to complete an RTC transfer).
Q.Must I be licensed to buy or sell on the Emission
Credits Exchange?
A.
No. Anyone who has been registered
on the Emission Credits Exchange and has the authority to do
so may buy or sell emission credits on the Emission Credits Exchange.
Q.What is the difference between the RECLAIM,
ERC, and ERMS markets?
A.There are many different emission
credits markets in the United States. Most of them are specific
to a particular region. ERC - emission reduction credits - markets
are the most common and although there are variations from one
to the next, they are, in general, very similar markets. ERCs
usually do not expire, for example, but they may trade in tons
per year in one air pollution control agency and in pounds per
day in another.
RECLAIM is a program specific to the South Coast Air Quality
Management District in Southern California. RECLAIM trading credits,
or RTCs, are allocated to facilities and are usable only for
the year for which they are allocated. One RTC represents one
pound of either NOx or SOx. For more information about RECLAIM
please see http://www.aqmd.gov/reclaim/reclaim.html.
ERMS, or Emission Reduction Market System, is the program in
place in the Chicago ozone non-attainment area and is overseen
by the Illinois EPA. An allotment trading unit (ATU) represents
200 pounds of volatile organic material (VOM) and is good for
two years. For more information about the ERMS program, please
see http://www.epa.state.il.us/air/erms/index.html.
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