Global Greenhouse Gas Reduction Agreement on the way?
February 27th, 2008Global leaders are shaping up for talks on a binding reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. The EU Environment Commissioner is the in US for talks on this very subject. The US say they are ready to move forward on this thorny issue but want all countries to make similar reductions. This is not music to the ears of the Chinese who will continue to trumpet the issue of per capita emissions as opposed to total emissions.
No doubt they will all keep knocking this ball around until someone caves in. But why bother? It’s simply the wrong approach. At the moment we have a free energy market (actually its dysfunctional but that’s another story) where people can choose to buy what is offered. If we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions we simply need to reduce the amount of fossil fuels available to create them.
Then just leave the market to operate as normal. Simple.
I know I’m restating my position on this but the longer this goes on the more clear it becomes 
Tags: carbon, climate change, environment, fossil fuels, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions
February 28th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Hey Raf
“If we want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions we simply need to reduce the amount of fossil fuels available to create them.”
I stumbled across an article that may relate to your post. Its in regards to the design of the proposed Iranian Oil Bourse, which is written by a former City commodities trader who now works in the Middle East.
He also writes about about his idea of a new commodity backed currency similar to J M Keynes Bancor and Bernard Litaer’s Terra, which he calls the Carbon Dollar. His proposal is for the cost of carbon to be incorporated into the cost of oil at source.
He made a statement similar to your conclusion that he overheard at a gathering of traders.
“If you want to keep a donkey healthy, you
don’t regulate what comes out of it, but what goes inâ€.
http://www.grc.ae/data/contents/uploads/Economic_newsletter_issue_no_5_3274.pdf