Posts tagged…Emissions
Cap-and-trade to fund Obama’s tax cuts
Thu, Mar 26 2009This seems to be a plan to make the workers pay for the proposed tax cuts for the middle-class.
"The White House planned to finance the tax cuts with revenues from its proposed cap-and-trade scheme to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, but neither the House nor Senate budget committees are planning to include those measures in their legislation.
In his press conference on Tuesday evening, Mr Obama…
Read more…A tangle of carbon taxes
Thu, Mar 19 2009A big storm on the horizon… get ready for it
Border tax adjustments ('carbon tariffs') are inevitable once mandatory carbon taxes or emission caps with market value are applied to production. Now, the Obama administration acknowledges that:
"Mr. Chu, speaking before a House science panel, said establishing a carbon tariff would help 'level the playing field' if other countries haven't imposed…
Effect of a market ‘fix’...
Mon, Feb 23 2009Contrary to the spin, emissions-trading discourages conservation:
"But the fact is once emissions trading comes in, every tonne of emissions saved by households simply frees up an extra permit that will allow big polluters to increase their emissions. This is because emissions trading relies on a fixed number of pollution permits being in circulation at any point in time. While most people…
The evidence on cap-and-trade
Wed, Feb 18 2009"The problem in Australia is not that the wrong policy won in the battle of ideas. The problem is that the battle never took place. We need to have this debate. If the Government is determined to introduce further climate change policy, there are plenty of reasons a carbon tax may be better than a trading system." Op Ed by John Humpreys in The Australian
Exactly!
Emission controls not warranted by facts
Tue, Dec 16 2008
Some environmentalists (and The Age newspaper) are predictably crying foul at Kevin Rudd's relatively modest White Paper option of up to 25% or 35% cuts from the estimated business as usual level of Australian GHG emissions in 2020. Nevertheless, the proposed ETS conforms to the government's threat to "reform and transform our economy" (Climate Minister, Penny Wong), by effectively choking it…
Rug-man on climate haircut
Sun, Dec 14 2008
"On Thursday the Italian premier had repeated a threat to veto the package if Italy's demands were not met, and said in a frank exchange with journalists that he thought it was "absurd" to be talking about carbon emissions in the face of the more pressing financial crisis. "It's like someone with pneumonia thinking about having a hairdo," he said." (extract from ANSA)
Transition to a non-carbon economy
Fri, Nov 21 2008The objectives of climate-change mitigation programs such as those in the Garnaut Report or in the Australian Government's absurdly-named 'carbon pollution reduction scheme' cannot be achieved by 2020 or 2050 without a massive, and rapid, transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources of primary energy for base-load power generation, transport etc.
But forcing rapid change in the way we…
Designing a carbon tax
Wed, Aug 06 2008
"Experts" are struggling for space in the media to peddle designs for a carbon "pollution" reduction tax. Paul Kelly in the Australian newspaper seems to approve a proposal by Geoff Carmody of Access Economics for a consumption tax in place of a cap-tax-equivalent on production of Australian carbon.
"'Australia can only control its consumption of emissions,' he says. 'Attempts to control…
Krugman loses his kool
Mon, Aug 04 2008
Is it my imagination, or is his NYT portrait looking a little crazed these days?
"The only way we’re going to get action [to cut carbon emissions], I’d suggest, is if those who stand in the way of action come to be perceived as not just wrong but immoral." extract from: NYTimes.com
This sort of shameful nonsense leads pretty soon to talk about 'patriotism' and 'moral majorities'.
…Argument for ‘least cost’ emissions policy
Thu, Jul 17 2008Paul Kelly's accurate assessment of the real 'diabolical dilemma'. Read the full article.
"[Overshooting on emissions controls] is a lethal risk for Rudd. His Government is a believer in multilateral idealism and the moral cause of mitigation. The truth, however, is that multilateralism is in serious retreat and idealism in climate change is the fraud of our age. Many senior Australian officials…
It’s not just China, India
Wed, Jul 16 2008Germany's Finance Ministry, too, is critical of a plan to cut emissions that is more gradual than proposed in Kevin Rudd's Green Paper.
"The ministry was particularly critical of the EU's goal to cut the quota of emissions trading permits by 21 percent, compared to 2005 levels, saying this would cost Germany both jobs and growth." extract from: Deutsche Welle
Whistling in an ill-wind
Tue, Jul 08 2008
David Stockwell wondered in an off-line message if there's a way for the 'ordinary Joe' to make some money from emissions trading. If he comes up with something, I hope David tells us about it (although he'd probably be wiser to keep to himself). I can think of a few possibilities but only one sure-fire opportunity…
It's a timely question from David. Profiting from government interventions in the…