Many studies have confirmed that there are significant business opportunities for destroying Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) through the voluntary carbon market. ODS have very high global warming potential (GWP) so that their controlled and verified destruction has the ability to generate large volumes of carbon offset credits. These credits can then be sold into the voluntary carbon markets creating unique business opportunities. Because little ODS, such as air conditioning refrigerant, is currently being recovered at the end of the life of the equipment, the possibility of earning carbon credits presents a potentially unique financial incentive for the recovery and destruction of ODS which would otherwise be released to the atmosphere.
Simply stated, incentives are created for the businesses that are recovering the material and channeling it to authorized and audited destruction facilities. After destruction buyers pay for real and verifiable emission reductions resulting from the destruction of ODS saving many millions of tons of carbon equivalent emissions.
Timothy Kearney has been Vice President of RemTec International since 1993. RemTec is a certified refrigerant reclaimer by the U. S. EPA and has been a world leader in recovery, reclamation and destruction of ODS. The company developed patented methods of recovery and reclaiming ODS and has been a contractor for the Commonwealth of Australia in managing the recovery and decanting of over 1500 MT of halon. RemTec has been a prime contractor for the aerospace and defense industries in the United States since early 1990. In recent years, RemTec has used arc plasma technology to destroy ODS for carbon credits. In 2008 RemTec was the first company to be issued credits from the destruction of ODS from the Chicago Climate Exchange. Mr. Kearney was also a member of the working group of the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) that developed the protocol for destruction of ODS that is now recognized and accepted by the California Air Resource Board for inclusion in their accepted offsets. RemTec has been issued over 2.5 million CAR offset credits from ODS Destruction in the last two years, more than any other Project Developer. The company now has partnership or joint venture interests with companies in Saudi Arabia, China and India.
Mr. Kearney graduated from the University of Dayton and after serving four years in the United States Army and earning the rank of Captain, Mr. Kearney obtained his certificate as a Certified Public Accountant and worked in several small businesses in Ohio prior to joining RemTec. In his position as Vice President, Mr. Kearney is responsible for the company’s development of carbon credits for its own use and for its customers.