VitalAccurateThinking

Britain, Calif Unite on Global Warming

Britain, Calif Unite on Global Warming

WASHINGTON (AP) - Britain and California are preparing to sidestep the Bush administration and fight global warming together by creating a joint market for greenhouse gases.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plan to lay the groundwork for a new trans-Atlantic market in carbon dioxide emissions, The Associated Press has learned. Such a move could help California cut carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases scientists blame for warming the planet. President Bush has rejected the idea of ordering such cuts.

Readers of my blog know that I am skeptical of the carbon trading schemes. I think such schemes are just like gold mines. Very few got rich off mining gold; many got rich off selling supplies to miners. In this case, the organizations and people getting rich will be the carbon traders, third-world kleptocratic politicians and developed nations' government coffers. Evidence of this is already surfacing:

"I don't suppose the environment has noticed the European emissions trading scheme," said William Blyth, director of Oxford Energy Associates in Oxford, England, and a former International Energy Agency official who advises businesses on energy and climate change policy. The utilities and emissions traders, in contrast, "have done very well."

posted by Jim VAT @ 5:14 PM