The higher tax agenda behind global warming

Green_Bear · November 28, 2007, 6:24am

contemporary · November 28, 2007, 9:56am

it was madness in the first place to allow our emissions on 1990 levels

Green_Bear · November 28, 2007, 9:45pm

There is to date little evidence that Kyoto is driving behaviour. Whatever evidence there is of impressive emissions reductions comes from countries such as the UK, Germany and the former communist states, where coal use was being phased out for other reasons. The limited impact of Kyoto is evinced by the fact that carbon permits are now selling in the range of a negligible one euro a tonne.
Second, carbon markets are invitations to engage in pork-barrel corporate subsidy politics on a massive scale. If greenhouse gas emissions are to be substantially reduced, the value of the associated emissions rights will be in the tens of billions of dollars. While in principle emission permits could be auctioned, in practice they are always allocated administratively. It should not be surprising that businesses that can pass on carbon costs to their consumers are excited about schemes that compensate for these costs by allocating them permits related to their existing emissions levels. As investigations by this newspaper have highlighted, the clean development mechanism has resulted in substantial payments for emissions reductions that would have occurred anyway or could have been achieved at negligible cost. There is even reason to think that certain industrial gas emissions may have been increased so that credit could be claimed for their abatement.

Third, the most serious problem with the Kyoto framework is that it is unlikely to generate substantial changes in developing country policies. As my Indian hosts explained on a recent visit, developing country policymakers are not likely to accept binding targets on their energy use or greenhouse gas emissions that fall way short on a per-capita basis of emissions levels in the industrial world.
Nor is it reasonable to expect them on the basis of dubious projections of economic trends and future technological developments to commit to energy use goals that fall short of patterns observed in the rich countries.
The truth about climate change policy is that developing countries are where most of the future action has to be. They will account for 75 per cent of the increase in emissions over the next quarter century and are now making the infrastructure investments that will shape their future economies. Moreover, any international regime that does not include them will not work because emissions reductions in the industrial world will be offset as energy intensive activities relocate to the developing world. The 1997 vote cast by all the Democrats in the Senate suggests that approaches that do not involve the developing world are unlikely to command political support in at least some parts of the industrialised world.

We need to bring climate idealism down to earth
blogs.ft.com/wolfforum/2007/04/w … _brin.html

Green_Bear · November 28, 2007, 9:54pm

You’ve heard of the gravy train, meet the gravy plane

So we have a rather large number of United Nations officials (always ready to help mankind if they can do it with unlimited expense accounts and first-class benefits) scurrying off to Bali next month to save the planet. They will be attending a conference on climate change. Are any of our county councillors going?
To show their deep concern about the fate of the planet, shouldn’t the representatives fly commercial? They could jet-pool to cut down on all the pollution… Oh the irony of all those private jets will be spewing out global warming pollutants. Isn’t this akin to bulldozing trees to build a center that will host a conference on deforestation?
I’ll believe (global warming) is a crisis when the people who tell me it’s a crisis start acting like it’s a crisis. That’s not what I see happening.

Open_Window · November 29, 2007, 12:57am

It can be done, if that was what you wanted and it wouldn’t resemble this way of living.

I myself believe and have stated os that the carbon tax is a bit of a con proposed by governments needing new tax agendas to justify their governance.

I trust the universe, I have nothing but utter contempt for politicians and their contempt for reality.

Green_Bear · December 6, 2007, 11:07pm

Oireachtas representation is expected as follows:

Mr Sean Barrett, TD Chairman of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, Mr Simon Coveney, TD Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) Mr Ciaran Cuffe TD Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) Senator Fiona O’Malley Seanad Éireann (Senate) Mr Padraig Allen Secretariat Oireachtas Éireann

The rest of the delegation is as follows:

For the high-level ministerial segment:

Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

2 DEHLG officials

For the bulk of the two week conference:

2 DEHLG officials

2 EPA officials

1 DCENR official (Department of Communications Energy & Natural Resources)

1 DFA official (Department of Foreign Affairs)

UN Climate Change Conference: 14 Irish officials jet to Bali to join 10,000 to get action on climate change
finfacts.com/irelandbusiness … 2025.shtml

https://livecontact.nbtel.nb.ca/bali-beach.jpg
Nice handy winter break at taxpayer expense

Green_Bear · December 6, 2007, 11:10pm

IBEC Head of Business Infrastructure Donal Buckley said: “Current Government policy documents such as the National Climate Change Strategy, Energy White Paper and Energy Efficiency Action Plan contain numerous measures to reduce emissions. However, most are uncosted and their effectiveness and economic impact are unknown. This make it very difficult to judge whether these measures are being implemented in the right order.”

IBEC called on the Government to fully cost all measures so implementation happens in the most efficient and effective order. IBEC looks forward to future carbon budgets containing all essential information, particularly the cost of proposed policy measures, to ensure Ireland meet its obligations in the most economic and environmentally effective manner.

Gormley presents vague Carbon Budget; IBEC says Climate Change plans uncosted; Effectiveness and economic impact are unknown
finfacts.com/irelandbusiness … 2033.shtml

Calvin_J · December 7, 2007, 12:12am

Oireachtas representation is expected as follows:

Mr Sean Barrett, TD Chairman of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, Mr Simon Coveney, TD Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) Mr Ciaran Cuffe TD Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) Senator Fiona O’Malley Seanad Éireann (Senate) Mr Padraig Allen Secretariat Oireachtas Éireann

The rest of the delegation is as follows:

For the high-level ministerial segment:

Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government

2 DEHLG officials

For the bulk of the two week conference:

2 DEHLG officials

2 EPA officials

1 DCENR official (Department of Communications Energy & Natural Resources)

1 DFA official (Department of Foreign Affairs)

UN Climate Change Conference: 14 Irish officials jet to Bali to join 10,000 to get action on climate change
finfacts.com/irelandbusiness … 2025.shtml

Do we really need 14 officials there? I think not. Id love to know how much that jaunt is costing the taxpayer? I wouldnt be surprised if the cost was about €1/4m.

With telecommunications and internet the way they are nowadays, they could have the just sent 4 people and kept the rest of the team in Dublin working over conference call and internet.