carbon trading
-
![]()
![]()
What is Obama’s international climate strategy?
International climate negotiations often seem like some sort of cosmic science fair project — an aquarium full of hamsters connected to rudimentary motors. There’s a lot of frantic running, a lot of sweat and heat, but in the end, very little light. Faith in the UN climate process has dimmed. Joe Romm calls it a […]
-
American Clean Energy Security Act strengthens U.S. ability to sabotage international climate talks
“The world is not going to turn its back on coal.“U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven ChuThe Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy Security Act (ACES) won’t cut emissions. It won’t serve as a platform we can improve later anymore than the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) served as a foot in the door to improve our democracy when […]
-
American Climate Energy Security bill still makes things worse.
“The girl’s not playing with a full deck, Giles. She has almost no deck. She has a three.” Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Faith, Hope and Trick. The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) repeals the recently won authority the EPA has to regulate greenhouse gases, and replaces that authority with a loophole ridden […]
-
![]()
![]()
DeFazio lambasts cap-and-trade
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) made one thing clear on Friday: he’s just not that into the cap-and-trade legislation under debate in the House. Peter DeFazio was first elected to the House in 1986. He represents Oregon’s 4th district in the southwestern part of the state.Courtesy Rep. DeFazioIn a speech in Portland, DeFazio decried the focus […]
-
![]()
![]()
Offsets: Pissing the earth away
More than 2 and half years ago I wrote: “Mommy, where do carbon offsets come from?” “Well, you see sweetheart, when a major polluter and a consultant love money very, very much, they express that love in a special way. Nine months later, the consultant produces an extremely large paper packet.” Offsets, the idea that […]
-
![]()
![]()
A closer look at problems with the sectoral approach to carbon offsets
Last month I went home to Barcelona to attend Carbon Expo, one of the major annual gatherings for professionals involved in the global carbon market. There were many interesting conversations and panel discussions over the course of the three-day conference, but one in particular focused on sectoral mechanisms as a way of sourcing international offsets […]
-
![]()
![]()
Everything you always wanted to know about the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill — in bullet points
You keep hearing about the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill — aka the American Clean Energy and Security Act, ACES, H.R. 2454 — but what’s actually in it? We combed through the 946-page beast so you don’t have to. Here are the highlights of the bill, which is sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif) and […]
-
Offsets are still counterfeit carbon credits
The arguments in favor of counterfeit carbon credits still fail no matter how often they are repeated Common talking points(TP) and replies(R) TP) Cap-and-trade will be too expensive if we don’t do offsets. And then we need a higher cap! R) Counterfeit carbon credits are just a back door way to raise the cap. It […]
-
Cap-and-trade: filling up the political space that should be used for real solutions
One of the least discussed flaws in the Waxman-Markey bill’s attempt to tackle the climate crisis also illustrates the fundamental problem with cap-and-trade. The bill strips the EPA[1] of much of its existing authority to regulate greenhouse gases, in return for the new, weaker authority granted under Waxman-Markey. The existence of this authority is one […]
