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Comment by Shiekh Saleem Banda on October 29, 2011 at 3:16

Climate Justice NOW. A better World is possible if we all hold hands and do the right thing right.

Comment by Cara on August 15, 2011 at 11:26

Thanks for sharing Robin! You can also post videos by going to "My Profile" and the scrolling down to "Videos" where you should see the option to "Add video."

Comment by Robin Pomfret on August 15, 2011 at 11:22

found this interesting vid on carbon capture , but i could not work out how to enter it so i thought i would post it here 

http://vimeo.com/27163710

hope this works 

Comment by Peter Wignall on June 22, 2011 at 11:03

Watching Stephen Hawkin's TV program with his suggestions on "how to preserve the human species," I ask the question: "Is human intelligence unable to rationalise itself to restrict its breeding of humans in order to preserve planet Earth with its Flora and Fauna?

I visited Madagascar in 1972 as a seafarer, looking at today's information on that island I am shocked by the rapid changes that have occurred.

Comment by Gravion.. on May 6, 2011 at 22:03

Global Warming " We are going to combine Suesite"

Comment by Ken Xie on October 1, 2010 at 19:31

I'm not entirely in agreement with Ronnie but there are a number of reasons to favour a carbon tax over an ETS.

First is speed of operationality. A carbon tax could be introduced for the 2011 financial year, whereas an ETS would take at least year to fully design, and if like the EU ETS it had a couple of years of trials before entering into its first phase, that could put off until 2015 or so any real price on carbon. So in the medium term, a carbon tax is more likely to provide certainty and action than a cabon tax.

I agree that up until now, the ETS has been largely ineffective in actually reducing emissions. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, intensive lobbying resulted in excess permits being given to industry. Secondly, a number of businesses have chosen to offset the emissions by trading permits within the ETS (not a problem) but also by bringing in credits from outside the system via the CDM. This means that they can fulfil their obligations of decreasing emissions whilst real emissions levels actually rise.

The first problem can be resolved via the second commitment period from 2013-2017, so all eyes are on Europe to see if they can hold off the pressure from industry. It will help that they will be auctioning most of the permits. The second problem can only be resolved through coordinated international action, which we aren't quite going to see just yet.

So I must say that I quite like the Greens' proposal of an interim carbon tax providing short-term incentives pending the introduction of an ETS in a couple of years' time. An ETS is not inherently flawed, but it is a much more complex system to set up and a lot can go wrong - not necessarily huge, glaring errors, but the accumulation of little inaccuracies and loopholes can have a cumulatively large impact.

Comment by Michael Salvatico on October 1, 2010 at 15:27

Interesting Ronnie. I would like to hear what has made you feel this way.

Why is a carbon tax any more certain than a market based trading scheme? In reality a tax does not limit the tonnes of carbon emissions at all, it merely put a price on carbon. That price needs to be determined by the regulators. If it is too, low it does nothing to reduce emissions. If it is too high it kills industry before alternative investments can be made. In contrast a carbon market specifies the quantity of carbon emissions and allows the market to determine the price.

This mechanism allowed business to continue in Europe during the Global Financial Crisis. Carbon Emissions were reduced in Europe during the period of the European ETS. Europe is tracking better than required by the 2012 Kyoto targets.

Comment by Ronnie Wright on October 1, 2010 at 10:02

I'm completely opposed to a cap and trade and in favour of a carbon tax. The future of our climate is so uncertain that it is impossible to accurately place a cap on carbon. One only need to look to the EU for an example. Cap and trade has been a total failure there. Time is running out. We can’t rely on a method that has proven to be a failure. See this article.

My hope is that the Greens will have enough power to push cap and trade aside and fight for a carbon tax.

Comment by Caroline Nute on October 1, 2010 at 9:35

More quickly? If it does happen quicker it will be more to do with the additional parliamentary influence of the green and independent electees - although I suspect the support of BHP will help things along a little... lets hope that things get moving and that it is effective!

Comment by Michael Salvatico on October 1, 2010 at 9:29

Who thinks a carbon price is more likely to happen more quickly now that BHP has shown its support?

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