Cap and Trade or Carbon Tax?

Thursday, 22nd May 2008

No, don't worry, I'm not about to launch in to a technical discussion of one or the other. Let's just point out that cap and trade involves more bureaucracy, more opportunities for fixing the system to favour specific interests.

As, indeed, we see in the Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism:

Any type of technology other than nuclear power can apply for credits. Even new coal plants, if these can be shown to be even a marginal improvement upon existing plants, can receive offset income. A massive 4,000MW coal plant on the coast of Gujarat, India, is expected soon to apply for CERs. The plant will spew into the atmosphere 26m tonnes of CO2 per year for at least 25 years. It will be India's third - and the world's 16th - largest source of CO2 emissions.

Low carbon nuclear cannot apply? WTF? I mean, seriously, WTFF?

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