EU Planning to Charge Airlines for Carbon Emissions

[one...two...tree 2,762]

who gets the money? & what are they going to do w/ it?

I hear it's some little troll living under a bridge, but my rational mind would hunch that the money will probably be used to pay for the growing costs attributed to rapid acceleration of Global Warming.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Carbon tax and emissions trading: how countries compare

China

Plans have been announced for emissions trading systems to be rolled out in six regions by 2013 and nationwide by 2015. China's ambitious strategy to see a 40%-45% cut by 2020 in "carbon emissions intensity" - that is, carbon emissions per unit of GDP - has been praised by those who claim the commitment from the world's biggest source of CO₂ emissions shows up the US's indecision on carbon caps. But there are worries that the true impact of China's increasing number of coal-fired power stations is being masked by the cooling effects of these plants' sulphur emissions.

US

Despite being the second biggest CO₂ total emitter after China, the US has no national carbon tax policy. A bill to introduce a carbon cap was abandoned a year ago by Democrats when it met with opposition from both sides.

Europe

The European Union emissions trading scheme (ETS) is the largest multinational emissions trading scheme in the world and obliges large emitters to produce no more than their particular European unit allowance. Otherwise, they must buy surplus units from other emitters or face severe penalties.

Six years after its launch, the ETS faces criticism for failing to reduce carbon emissions in some cases, failing to spur non-EU countries to adopt cap-and-trade systems, and encouraging fraud and profiteering. As EU members debate the parameters of the next phase, from 2013 to 2020, campaigners are calling for fundamental reforms, or for it to be scrapped in favour of potentially more effective measures, such as carbon taxes. But the system has resulted in overall carbon emission reduction, and the EU has been praised for establishing a wide-ranging climate initiative.

India

India sets emission levels for 563 of the country's biggest polluters, such as power and, steel mills and cement plants, allowing businesses who use more energy to buy carbon certificates from those who use less. Trading will start in 2014.

Nationwide, it has a carbon tax (1 July 2010) of 50 rupees/tonne ($1.07/tonne) of coal produced in and imported to India.

In comparison to many other of its Asian counterparts, India's carbon pricing schemes are ambitious. They reflect an urgent need to curb emission rates from a country that – with four times the population of the US, an economy growing 8-9 per cent a year, and surging energy demand – makes it the country with the third highest carbon emissions.

Although it has refused to accept legally binding targets, India has pledged to reduce "carbon emissions intensity" - that is, carbon emissions per unit of GDP - by 20-25% from 2005 levels by 2020. But there are concerns about how both carbon initiatives will evolve because of a lack of data and trained manpower as well as weak penalties for firms that refuse to comply. Nonetheless, India's tax on coal is one of the first carbon taxes enacted at the national level by any major economy in the world.

• This article was amended on 11 August 2011 because the original said China and India have made a commitment to cut their carbon emissions. To clarify: China and India have said they will reduce their "emissions intensity" (carbon emissions per unit of GDP), as opposed to an absolute reduction in emissions.

http://www.guardian....g-international

Edited October 4, 2011 by DFH

[SMOKE 1,426]

I hear it's some little troll living under a bridge, but my rational mind would hunch that the money will probably be used to pay for the growing costs attributed to rapid acceleration of Global Warming.

yah, i know al gore bought a bunch of 'carbon credits' (from who? i have no idea or why they all the sudden had 'credits')to resale at a nice profit. but, what is he going to do w/ the profits? put some sunglasses over earth.? install a global cooling system?. or just laugh at the 'smart people' that think they can stop earths natural climate variations?

Edited October 4, 2011 by SMOKE

[one...two...tree 2,762]

...'smart people' that think they can stop earths natural climate variations?

The rate of change is the issue. What normally would occur over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years is happening within a few decades, accelerated by man-made greenhouse gases. I'm sure you and I could drop 20-30 lbs over a 6 months span. But try to do that in a week and your body could go into shock. Why? Because it takes time to adapt. That's how Mother Nature works. The mountains, valleys streams and oceans weren't made in a day.

[SMOKE 1,426]

The rate of change is the issue. What normally would occur over tens or even hundreds of thousands of years is happening within a few decades, accelerated by man-made greenhouse gases. I'm sure you and I could drop 20-30 lbs over a 6 months span. But try to do that in a week and your body could go into shock. Why? Because it takes time to adapt. That's how Mother Nature works. The mountains, valleys streams and oceans weren't made in a day.

i asked:

who gets the money? & what are they going to do w/ it?

meaning..

what is the name of the 'carbon credit store'?

who owns & operates it?

how did they obtain these credits that didn't exist before?

what specifically are they going to do to stop or even slow what they claim is happening?

all i'm seeing is an excuse to hit peoples bank account w/o any plan of action to improve the sitsuation....and no hiking cost to consumer as a deterant & putting developed nations at a finacial disadvantage to compete globally is NOT a good plan of action.

[faust-yusov 103]

and guess who this is a tax on...... *drum roll*

The middle-class!!!

YAY EU!!!!

idiots.

Seriously, anyone who follows this 'carbon emissions' and global warming bullshit is mentally ill.

Edited October 6, 2011 by faust-yusov

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Awesome.

[scandal 951]

i asked:

meaning..

what is the name of the 'carbon credit store'?

who owns & operates it?

how did they obtain these credits that didn't exist before?

what specifically are they going to do to stop or even slow what they claim is happening?

what is the name of the 'carbon credit store'?

The "carbon credit store", if you will, is the ECX (European Climate Exchange) in which you can trade futures and options for emission credits.

https://www.theice.com/productguide/ProductGroupHierarchy.shtml?groupDetail=&group.groupId=19

Overview

Through its ECX product suite, ICE Futures Europe is the leading global marketplace for trading carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

ICE Futures Europe currently offers derivative contracts on three types of carbon units: ICE ECX EU allowances (EUAs), ICE ECX Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and the world's first ICE ECX Emissions Reductions Units (ERUs).

These emissions products were first traded in April 2005, with the launch of futures on EUAs. EUA options were listed the following year. Similar contracts on CERs were introduced in 2008, with Daily Futures (spot) contracts on both underlying products added in 2009. The latest launch of ERUs will provide price discovery and transparency for the ERU market, enabling market participants to manage their carbon price risk more efficiently with EUAs, CERs and ERUs on a single platform.

CO2 emissions trading volumes have experienced strong growth. In 2009 volumes surpassed 5 billion tonnes of CO2 and equivalent, and 2010 volumes passed the 5 billion tonne mark early in the second half. Over 100 global businesses are members for trading ICE ECX emissions products, in addition to the several thousand traders around the world with access to this market via clearing members and brokers.

who owns & operates it?

ECX is a member exchange of ICE Europe, meaning that is who owns and operates it (ICE is the Intercontinental Exchange, based in Atlanta). Until last year, CCX (Chicago Climate Exchange) operated a similar venue in the US for voluntary emission credits. It's ceased operations as an active trading exchange due to the political uncertainty over US emissions policy.

how did they obtain these credits that didn't exist before?

Two part answer.

First, emission credits in Europe, and other jurisdictions which have them, are issued by governments or voluntary membership organizations to companies. Companies which produce emissions are required (by law, or by voluntary compliance) to have sufficient credits to cover their emissions. If they don't have enough - they must buy some. If they have too many - they can sell them and make a profit. This creates a spot market in emissions.

Second, to facilitate trading in credits and aid in liquidity and price discovery, futures contracts are defined and traded based on the underlying emission credits. And options on these futures as well. These are created in the marketplace in the same way that any other futures and options are: through open interest. Sellers advertise an interest to sell N contracts at price P, and voila, open interest exists on the offer. Buyers advertise, and it materializes on the bid. A trade crosses, and a time/sales tape gets generated. Nothing magical about it,really.

what specifically are they going to do to stop or even slow what they claim is happening?

The purpose of trading in emission credits is to use the marketplace to find a fair market price for how much pollution actually costs, and to inspire businesses to invent solutions to reduce emissions from a profit motive.

Here's a simple scenario to explain the concept:

Let's say you are a polluter, and you've been issued 100 carbon credits each year. But your business is dirty and you'll need 120 credits at year end. You need to buy 20 credits for Dec. So you go to the exchange and buy 20 Dec contracts to lock in your price. That sucks and your shareholders are mad at you for this extra cost, and you determine to reduce it next year. So you invest in some scrubbing technology for your factory and next year you need only 90 credits. The cost of the scrubbers is a one-time expense, but your ability to sell 10 credits into the marketplace each year going forward offsets that one-time cost in year 3, and from then on you're making money by selling credits. You make more money, your shareholders are happy, and you send less pollutants into the atmosphere so society has cleaner air. Win, win, win.

[SMOKE 1,426]

ty Ron.

[Ban Hammer 13,501]

sounds like a way for someone to get richer.

[SMOKE 1,426]

sounds like a way for someone to get richer.

yah, that was my opinion before the explaination & it is now too.

all i'm seeing is an excuse to hit peoples bank account w/o any plan of action to improve the sitsuation....and no hiking cost to consumer as a deterant & putting developed nations at a finacial disadvantage to compete globally is NOT a good plan of action.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Let's say you are a polluter, and you've been issued 100 carbon credits each year. But your business is dirty and you'll need 120 credits at year end. You need to buy 20 credits for Dec. So you go to the exchange and buy 20 Dec contracts to lock in your price. That sucks and your shareholders are mad at you for this extra cost, and you determine to reduce it next year. So you invest in some scrubbing technology for your factory and next year you need only 90 credits. The cost of the scrubbers is a one-time expense, but your ability to sell 10 credits into the marketplace each year going forward offsets that one-time cost in year 3, and from then on you're making money by selling credits. You make more money, your shareholders are happy, and you send less pollutants into the atmosphere so society has cleaner air. Win, win, win.

Bingo! It's really not that hard a concept. There are additional economic benefits, of course, because the carbon trading scheme effectively creates a more viable market for products in the pollution mitigation space. Here, we're talking research, innovation, technology, engineering and manufacturing type jobs. But why would we want any of those. Leave that to Europe and Asia. It's what we do with just about any new industry opportunity today because we're so focused to go back to the stone ages around here.

[scandal 951]

ty Ron.

My pleasure.

sounds like a way for someone to get richer.

Gotcha. Making money is a bad thing. You're a commie, huh?

[Ban Hammer 13,501]

Gotcha. Making money is a bad thing. You're a commie, huh?

just pointing out that the ones i expect to benefit from this mad plan are the wealthy.

[Captain Oates 911]

and guess who this is a tax on...... *drum roll*

The middle-class!!!

YAY EU!!!!

idiots.

Seriously, anyone who follows this 'carbon emissions' and global warming bullshit is mentally ill.

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Every accredited scientist in the world is mentally ill !

OMG lets pray for the hurricanes and droughts to stop - that is the sane way to deal with this