Australia’s CSIRO's Clive Spash has come out fighting against the Australian government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, saying carbon trading and offset schemes appear ineffective in terms of actually reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs).
"The public appearance is that action is being undertaken. Reported in the Australian newspaper, Spash said trading schemes did not efficiently allocate emission cuts because their design was manipulated by vested interests. For example, in Australia, large polluters would be compensated with free permits while smaller, more competitive firms would have to buy theirs at auction. He said the schemes were flawed because global warming was caused by gases other than carbon, emissions were difficult to measure, carbon offsets bought from other countries were of dubious value and the schemes "crowded out" voluntary action by individuals. He said more direct measures, such as , regulations or new infrastructure would be simpler, more effective and less open to manipulation. Spash’s comments are matched elsewhere, with Matthew Sinclair of the Guardian in the UK claiming that emissions trading by the EU is costing British consumers GBP3 billion a year – equivalent to around GBP117 per family, a large part of it coming through higher electricity prices. Arguing against the EU system, he added: “We should make sure developed and developing countries are prosperous and free enough to cope with whatever climate change throws at them. We should also directly support the development of technologies that can provide us with new options, ideally with the kind of rigorous prizes that have delivered dramatic results in the development of everything from agricultural machinery and private suborbital spaceflight. That will be far more effective and affordable than the current approach. “The (EU) ETS has been an expensive failure. Having been implemented through the EU without a real debate here, it lacks democratic legitimacy and it is imposing a significant burden on the poorest families while achieving very little. It should be abolished.” Elsewhere, the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) says government ministers have misled the public about Britain’s reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions. The authority’s chairman, Sir Michael Scholar, said the use of “carbon credits” bought under the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to represent actual British emissions cuts could give a false impression of progress. He said tradeable “permits to pollute”, bought by British companies under the ETS may in effect be “hot air”. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
