Free Republic

...There is a very impressive consensus now emerging around the world that the solutions to the economic crisis are also the solutions to the climate crisis," he says. "I actually think we will get an agreement at Copenhagen." ..."[Obama's election] is one of the main factors," he says. "But we also have a big ally in reality the planet is under assault. This collision with human civilisation ... is increasingly dire." ... Gore says he has also detected a shift in the view of many business leaders. "They're seeing the writing on every wall they look at. They're seeing the...

Europe's carbon trading scheme has proved to be "disastrous" and a "scam" in which companies have profited with no effect on emissions... The environmentalist James Lovelock — who developed the Gaia theory of the planet as a "living organism" — and the former environment minister, Michael Meacher, said... "In principle [carbon trading] is not a bad idea but in operation it's been disastrous. Business has frankly made billions out of artificial reductions of what is called hot air with absolutely no environmental benefit at all," said Meacher, singling out the ETS for being distorted by commerce. "Governments under pressure from...

...Gore showed up on Capitol Hill with an updated version of his 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," including time-lapsed photos of melting glaciers.. He also urged Congress to consider a cap-and-trade system for carbon dioxide emissions, whereby the government caps the amount of carbon that can be emitted by businesses. Those that produce less carbon earn credits that can be sold to businesses that produce more carbon. Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican who holds the Tennessee Senate seat once held by Gore, suggested that a carbon tax, refunded to companies that produce less carbon, would be a better avenue. Gore...

Former US Vice President Al Gore's profile has been lower in recent weeks following his much-publicised appearance at the Academy Awards and at his congressional testimony on climate change earlier this year. But all that is likely to change later this month with the release of his new book, The Assault on Reason, and in the buildup to the seven-continent ''Live Earth'' concert in July. Gore, who still has not completely ruled out a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, could wait to gauge the response to his high-profile summer activities before making a final decision on another White House...

NEW YORK - The New York Mercantile Exchange plans to offer contracts for trading carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming, and other heat-trapping emissions. The entry by Nymex Holdings Inc. into the sector may herald the start of fierce competition among energy exchanges to serve a multibillion-dollar trading market for carbon emission allowances. The Chicago Climate Exchange has been the first in the United States to create an exchange for trading carbon credits, but Nymex hopes to use its relationships with energy companies and traders to snatch business from the Chicago exchange. "The interplay between the...

THE market in carbon credits grew faster than expected last year, tripling to $US30 billion ($36.6 billion) from $US10 billion in 2005, the World Bank said on Wednesday. But the fledgling carbon credit industry is struggling to keep up with demand, the Financial Times has found, as there is now a shortage of skilled technicians to monitor carbon reduction projects and verify that the claimed emissions cuts are taking place. Nearly $US25 billion came from transactions under the European Union's emissions trading scheme, while $US5 billion was from the sale of carbon credits by developing countries. China was the biggest...