Carbon Credits- a new profit center for Governments and Corporations?

Question

Please read the attached link and comment on the new monetary system appearing worldwide, right in front of our eyes.
http://www.globe-net.ca/special_features/primer_section6.cfm

Is this good or bad-------- will some polluting countries and companies take advantage of this by buying their way out?

Answer 1

Carbon credits for industries are a good idea, for individuals - not so much. Here's why.

For industries, you set a target for carbon reductions. Then, allowing companies to trade lets that carbon reduction happen at the lowest price to society. This is good.

It's a proven method which worked well for SO2 and acid rain.

The idea that individuals should buy carbon credits to justify wasteful ways is not sensible, for many reasons. For just one thing, the many small transactions offer great opportunities for scams, which an individual doesn't have the resources to judge. A large company can be sure things are legitimate.

Here's a pretty good discussion from a vaguely libertarian magazine, which talks about the experience with SO2.

http://www.reason.com/news/show/120381.html

"Reason provides a refreshing alternative to right-wing and left-wing opinion magazines by making a principled case for liberty and individual choice in all areas of human activity."

Answer 2

If it's set up properly, a carbon credit system would make it much more expensive to pollute, that's for sure. The more expensive it gets to pollute, the more incentive these companies have to switch to renewable energies.

I've seen that these carbon credits are going to be traded on major stock exchanges throughout the world. Based on how a lot of the alternative energy companies have been doing lately (take a look at the chart of First Solar: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=FSLR&t=1y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=
), it's very likely that these carbon credits will become very expensive very quickly!

So sure, a company can just buy a bunch of carbon credits to continue to use coal or oil, but when they also have to pay for these credits, it eventually gets cheaper to use solar power or wind or anything that doesn't require the purchase of carbon credits.

Answer 3

Walter Reed hospital closed down in August. Do you think approximately that an progression in situations? And unemployment remains unacceptably severe. anybody is going to be balloting on JOBS next 365 days, and their staying power is coming to an end. The genuine information do no longer count sort all the individuals who've given up finding for artwork or those whose unemployment advantages have been exhausted. that's lots of individuals who've heard no longer something yet flapping from Obama on an identical time as Harry Reid we could countless residing house activity expenditures rot interior the Senate.

Answer 4

If they can just buy them, yes it's bad, but if they can earn them by reducing emissions (Which AGW believers and people worried about the air we breath, but don't believe GW is caused by man, should agree that this would be a good thing.)

You see since I have Asthma I'm for reducing pollution in the air we breath.

Answer 5

Carbon cap and trade systems are the best way to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

Answer 6

Not so much the government or corporations, just Gore. But I must congratulate him for creating a niche that didn't exist before and Capitoline's on that. There's a sucker born every minute.

Answer 7

Why shouldn't they is the law allows them to do so?

There's no doubt about it - "Global Warming" is a plan to make the rich richer. There are profits to be made from exploiting people's fears.