Industry caught in carbon `smokescreen' Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on "carbon credit" projects that yield few if any environmental benefits. A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting some organisations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place. Others are meanwhile making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditure and in some cases for clean-ups that they would have made anyway.
Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on "carbon credit" projects that yield few if any environmental benefits.
A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting some organisations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place.
Others are meanwhile making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditure and in some cases for clean-ups that they would have made anyway.
There was an example posted here yesterday. The following news bit looks ironic, as well:
Russian Energy Giant to Bundle Carbon Credits With Gas Sales Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has made handsome profits selling natural gas to Europe. Now the company is positioning itself to make even more money, this time from the effluents from all that gas it sells to Europe. Gazprom announced Tuesday that it is selling carbon dioxide emissions credits that companies in the European Union need in order to burn Gazprom's fuel. The company is already testing the market for an innovative combination sale of fuel-and-emissions credits in countries that have undertaken to limit the release of gases that scientists say are warming the earth.
Gazprom, the Russian energy giant, has made handsome profits selling natural gas to Europe.
Now the company is positioning itself to make even more money, this time from the effluents from all that gas it sells to Europe. Gazprom announced Tuesday that it is selling carbon dioxide emissions credits that companies in the European Union need in order to burn Gazprom's fuel.
The company is already testing the market for an innovative combination sale of fuel-and-emissions credits in countries that have undertaken to limit the release of gases that scientists say are warming the earth.
A couple of other climate-related headlines:
[Skeptic's] Film on Global Warming Is Challenged
China to Force Rain Ahead of Olympics
We Can Have Green Conservatism - And We Should [For] the last 36 years, I have watched the pro-regulation, pro-litigation, pro-taxation liberals label themselves as the only Americans who care about the environment. The leftwing machine would have you believe that to care about clean air and water, biodiversity, and the future of the Earth you have to both buy in to their catastrophic scenarios and sign on to their command-and-control bureaucratic liberal agenda, including dramatic increases in government power and draconian policies that will devastate our economy, as the only solution to environmental challenges. The time has come to define a fundamentally different approach to a healthy environment and a healthy economy. The time has come for the development of Green Conservatism as an alternative to big bureaucracy and big litigation liberal environmentalism.
[For] the last 36 years, I have watched the pro-regulation, pro-litigation, pro-taxation liberals label themselves as the only Americans who care about the environment.
The leftwing machine would have you believe that to care about clean air and water, biodiversity, and the future of the Earth you have to both buy in to their catastrophic scenarios and sign on to their command-and-control bureaucratic liberal agenda, including dramatic increases in government power and draconian policies that will devastate our economy, as the only solution to environmental challenges.
The time has come to define a fundamentally different approach to a healthy environment and a healthy economy. The time has come for the development of Green Conservatism as an alternative to big bureaucracy and big litigation liberal environmentalism.
So what is Green Conservatism? Here are its basic values: 1. Green Conservatism favors clean air and clean water. 2. Green Conservatism understands biodiversity as a positive good. 3. Green Conservatism favors minimizing carbon loading in the atmosphere as a positive public value. 4. Green Conservatism is pro-science, pro-technology and pro-innovation. 5. Green Conservatism believes that green prosperity and green development are integral to the successful future of the human race. 6. Green Conservatism believes that economic growth and environmental health are compatible in both the developed and developing world. 7. Green Conservatism believes that we can realize more positive environmental outcomes faster by shifting tax code incentives and shifting market behavior than is possible from litigation and regulation.
On the other hand - at least it signals the authoritarian right is willing to consider the idea that climate matters.
That's a big clunky shift of the Overton window in the right direction. Especially if it means they spend even a little less time ranting about terrrra, Islamoblogoleftofascists, and Bill Clinton.
(But perhaps I'm just being cynical.)
