Environmental Talk

“What are you saying, Rick . . . the whole carbon trading plan is a scam?”

To the surprise of, hmmmm, . . . let’s see . . . exactly nobody with half a brain, an article in the Financial Times suggests that trafficking in “carbon credits” is, how shall we say, a bit of a rigged game.

As the FT reports:

“The growing political salience of environmental politics . . has seen a dramatic expansion in the number of businesses offering both companies and individuals the chance to go “carbon neutral” . . . A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases . . . Widespread instances of people and organisations buying worthless credits that do not yield any reductions in carbon emissions . . Brokers providing services of questionable or no value . . Companies and individuals being charged over the odds for the private purchase of European Union carbon permits that have plummeted in value because they do not result in emissions cuts.”

I can hardly believe what I’m reading. Political pressure and pull resulting in a systemically corrupt system of graft and double-dealing?!

I haven’t been this surprised since I found out George Michael was gay. Or since the UN was implicated in an arms-for-oil scandal.

Despair not, young enviro-shysters, there’s still plenty of money to be made. The FT predicts that the “burgeoning regulated market for carbon credits is expected to more than double in size to about $68.2bn by 2010.”

To give you an idea just how burgeoning that is - that’s even faster than the projected level of CO2 emissions increase from pre-Industrial Revolution times to the end of this century. And you know what an urgent piece of business that is.

How crazy is the carbon credit market? One offsetting company, Blue Source, is making money on carbon credits while drilling for oil.

But, wait, it gets better. “Blue Source said that because of the high price of oil, this process {i.e., drilling without the carbon} was often profitable in itself, meaning operators were making extra revenues from selling ‘carbon credits’ for burying the carbon.”

Who said there were no benefits to global warming?

Or as it played out in Casablanca . . .

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! (a croupier hands Renault a pile of money)
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: (sotto voce) Oh, thank you very much.
(aloud) Everybody out at once!

global warming, climate change, carbon credits, carbon offset, Casablanca, CO2 emissions, carbon neutral, arms-for-oil scandal, UN