Carbon

Britain’s faith in carbon trading as a way of reducing greenhouse gases could be dangerously misplaced, according to an independent academic working with the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

The carbon market showed a remarkable growth spurt in the first quarter of this year, with trading volumes up 37 per cent, new data show. Trading was driven by price volatility and companies selling carbon permits to raise short-term cash.

It didn't take long for the debate on biofuels to heat up again, despite the bottom-of-the-barrel price of oil and an economy in the drink. This time, it was a study published in the February issue of Science that said corn-based ethanol could add nearly twice as many greenhouse emissions as fossil fuels. Not to be left out, the California State Regulators, among others, have jumped into the fray and now seem ready to declare that biofuel will not help reduce global warming.

The free market has got us into this mess, and the free market will get us out of it.

This nonsensical idea is at the heart of all carbon trading measures, the Rudd government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) included.

Economic stimulus plans being rolled out across the world could commit countries to rapid growth in greenhouse gas emissions, cancelling some of the green initiatives included within them, analysis has found.