An inconvenient economic truth: Observations on carbon trading

The New Statesman ^ | 26 March 2009 | Tricia Holly Davis and Jonathan Leake

[Lorianne]

Britain’s faith in carbon trading as a way of reducing greenhouse gases could be dangerously misplaced, according to an independent academic working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Dr Chris Hope of the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School has been commissioned by the government to calculate how much environmental polluters would have to be

charged for emitting CO2 to make it worthwhile for them to cut back. However, his research, due to be delivered to the government later this year, has led him to a far wider conclusion: that the current European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is deeply flawed and should be replaced – or at least augmented – with a green tax.

Under the ETS, companies or countries are given quotas for their annual carbon emissions. If they exceed the quota, they have to buy extra from others who have undershot their limit. However, if they become more efficient, and so generate less CO2 than their quota, they can sell the surplus and make a profit. This raises a vital question: how much should energy users be charged for each tonne of CO2 they emit? For the ETS to work, the price has to be set at a level that makes it worthwhile for consumers to cut their energy use.

[VicVega]

The winners of the Cap and Trade bill will be the 0, Al Gore and Henry Paulson just to name a few. And of course all those that invested in GIM.

The Chicago Climate Exchange is about to make 0 and others millions. 0 got federal funding to open it.

Conflict of interest.

Too much money at stake and that is why the bill will pass in the senate.

[Milhous]

Carbon Credit Bubble

Carbon credits become increasingly valuable as government fiat drives carbon caps lower. Setting in place the mechanism for yet another speculative bubble. The last section of an essay titled "The Great American Bubble Machine" makes a credible case for a carbon credit bubble that will enrich a few at the expense of the many. Interested readers can start their search for a down loadable pdf here.

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !

[VicVega]

Thanks, I saved the link to the RS article. Will read it later.

[American in Israel]

Long ago, in medieval days there was a scam, a religious order taught that sin could be paid for with money, and you would be forgiven and washed clean. The priesthood set themselves up as the arbitrators of this deal to pay off God and collected massive amounts of money for “indulgences”. While God was not amused, sin abounded and priests wore robes of gold thread.

That old scam, rewashed and repackaged with a new god, and new sins, is back as cap and trade. For the sin of being a carbon life form and using carbon, you pay a politician for your indulgence and you are now green.

Truly there is nothing new under the sun.

[SERKIT]

Letter sent to Sen Dick Durbin (IL-D), Senate leadership

[bert]

Ping to AS

[Lorianne]

The Russian blogger Mat Rodina, who wrote the article “American Capitalism Out With a Wimper” that appeared in Pravda a few weeks ago calls the greenies WATERMELONS because they are green on the outside but Marxist red on the inside.

http://mat-rodina.blogspot.com/2009/06/green-ne...

American Capitalism Out With a Wimper
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2264905/posts

[Paine in the Neck]

The winners of the Cap and Trade bill will be the 0, Al Gore and Henry Paulson just to name a few

You're right. C&T will almst all of us poorer and few well-connected nomenklatura spectacularly wealthy.

[Paine in the Neck]

“almst” = “make almost”