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Europe ArchivesThe Danger of Green Stimulus
The Huffington Post has featured an op-ed by Teryn Norris and Jesse Jenkins, "The Danger of Green Stimulus," which issues a cautionary note about losing sight of climate objectives amidst all the fervor about green jobs and green stimulus.
The Huffington Post has featured an op-ed by me and Jesse Jenkins, "The Danger of Green Stimulus," which issues a cautionary note about losing sight of climate objectives amidst all the fervor about green jobs and green stimulus: The Danger of Green Stimulus Barack Obama's final appointments in December indicate a strong commitment to action on climate change. Steven Chu as Energy Secretary, Carol Browner as Energy & Climate Czar, John Holdren as Assistant for Science and Technology -- just to name a few recent selections -- are all proponents of vigorous action to cut U.S. global warming pollution and take leadership on a new international climate treaty. And Hilda Solis, Obama's new Labor Secretary, is a champion of "green jobs." All is well on the climate front, it seems. Except that it's not. Carbon cap and trade regulation remains the top federal policy priority for the majority of environmental groups. But in June, cap and trade legislation failed in the Senate, and sixteen Democratic Senators from coal and manufacturing-heavy states voiced their opposition to high carbon pricing. The policy faces even greater obstacles in today's economic climate, since it would increase the energy bills of the American public. NY Times Reports Failure of Cap & Trade
The article demonstrates the enormous challenges policymakers face in attempting to raise energy prices for industry and consumers, as well as the corruption and unintended consequences that could plague a similar policy system here in the United States.
The New York Times ran a landmark article today, "Money and Lobbyists Hurt European Efforts to Curb Gases," about the failure of cap and trade in Europe. It should be required reading for anyone concerned about climate change policy in the United States and abroad. It opens with this: The European Union started with a high-minded ecological goal: encouraging companies to cut their greenhouse gases by making them pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emitted into the atmosphere. The piece comes after the GAO just released a highly critical study of the use of offsets in Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme and amidst the chaotic climate negotiations at Poznan, where several European nations are balking at strict emissions caps. It also comes only a few weeks after President-elect Barack Obama pledged his support for cap and trade at a major climate conference in California. Continue reading "NY Times Reports Failure of Cap & Trade" » Quote of the Day, December 11, 2008
"The framework of the European system put governments in the position of behaving like 'a grandfather with a large family deciding what to give his favorite grandchildren for Christmas,' Mr. Trittin said in an interview." -From this New York Times article about the pitfalls and failures of cap and trade in Europe. In "Vine" Veritas? (No.)
The New Republic's environment and energy blogger Bradford Plumer hits Michael and Ted with a strawman argument.
Last week in response to Michael and Ted's piece in The American Prospect, Bradford Plumer at The New Republic's "The Vine" wrote a piece called "Should We Forget About Carbon Pricing? (No.)" The post, which mischaracterizes the stances Michael and Ted take in the Prospect piece, also propagates the myth of successful emissions reductions in Europe. Plumer writes: "Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger have yet another essay arguing that environmentalists should abandon all hope of trying to cap or tax carbon emissions, and instead focus solely on subsidizing clean-energy sources if they want to avert drastic global warming. This characterization of S&N's positions in The American Prospect and the Breakthrough Institute in general is a strawman. Kyoto: Like A Parrot Long Dead
"The truth, however, is that Kyoto, as a means to reduce carbon emissions, has been like Monty Python's parrot, long dead, despite all the protestations to the contrary by its salesmen."
Dominic Lawson, columnist for the British newspaper "The Independent," issued a scathing condemnation of the Poznan Climate Talks aimed at renewing the Kyoto Protocol after 2012: The truth, however, is that Kyoto, as a means to reduce carbon emissions, has been like Monty Python's parrot, long dead, despite all the protestations to the contrary by its salesmen. GAO Report Skeptical of ETS, Critical of CDM
The US Government Accountability Office released an analysis of the Europe's cap-and-trade program, the ETS, noting that there were more efficient and cost-effective ways to drive the deployment of clean energy than cap and trade and carbon offsets.
Last week the United States Government Accountability Office released its evaluation of Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme, the European Union's cap and trade program designed to control greenhouse gas emissions. The GAO was asked to investigate the effectiveness and outcomes of the ETS in order to inform the ongoing debate on emissions reduction strategies in the United States. A carbon pricing scheme has two basic purposes: to reduce carbon emissions and to drive private investment in low carbon technologies. However, according to the GAO, the ETS has failed to accomplish either objective in any measurable way: Continue reading "GAO Report Skeptical of ETS, Critical of CDM" » UK Auctions First Carbon Permits; Government Hoarding Revenue
The UK auctioned the first four million allowances to emit greenhouse gases under the EU's Emissions Trading System, but will not earmark auction revenues for investment in clean energy.
The UK Government auctioned the first four million allowances to emit greenhouse gases under their portion of the European Union's Emissions Trading System this week, raising 54m British pounds ($80.9m). However, the government is drawing fire for failing to earmark the auction revenues to investments in clean energy and energy efficiency that could further cut emissions and help reduce the costs of compliance with the cap and trade program. Instead of reinvesting the revenues in clean energy ventures, the government is reportedly planning to add revenues to the general budget. Continue reading "UK Auctions First Carbon Permits; Government Hoarding Revenue" » The Future of Climate Policy Depends Upon A Single Country . . .
In the coming weeks a monumental decision will be made that will influence the future evolution of global climate policies. A single country has in its power the ability to alter the course of global negotiations and change the dynamics of a political debate characterized by gridlock. That country is . . .
By Roger Pielke, Jr. Cross-posted from Prometheus In the coming weeks a monumental decision will be made that will influence the future evolution of global climate policies. A single country has in its power the ability to alter the course of global negotiations and change the dynamics of a political debate characterized by gridlock. That country is . . . Poland. Yes, Poland. (It is not the U.S. presidential election.) Over the next 6 weeks, the EU, with France taking the lead, must convince Poland (plus other Eastern European countries and Italy) to fall in line with (i.e., not veto) its ambitious climate policies or else see them utterly fall apart. The following graph helps to explain the political dynamics... Continue reading "The Future of Climate Policy Depends Upon A Single Country . . ." » |
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