Surging dollar hits chance of deal on ETS
Surging dollar hits chance of deal on ETS
Lenore Taylor, National correspondent | October 31, 2009
THE resurgent Australian dollar and strong commodity markets have slashed by more than $10 billion the expected revenue from the emissions trading scheme over the next decade, dramatically reducing the government’s scope to accept Malcolm Turnbull’s amendments.
Ten-year costings for the ETS, expected to be released with the government’s mid-year economic forecasts next week, are likely to show that instead of the $11bn surplus estimated by independent forecasters by 2020, the ETS could run at a loss in many of those years and require top-up funding from the budget.
A large or ongoing deficit would contradict government promises that the scheme will over time pay for itself, and jeopardise promised compensation to businesses and households from revenue raised from selling emissions permits.
Impact of religions will have ‘deeper roots ‘ than Copenhagen
Impact of religions will have ‘deeper roots’ than Copenhagen Ecologist 31st October, 2009 Archbishop speaks of the lasting impact of a religious movement to tackle climate change ahead of major summit of religious leaders The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has spoken out about the crucial role of the world’s religions in tackling climate change Continue Reading →
The first climate evacuation: what have we learned.
The first climate evacuation: what have we learned? Dan Box 28th July, 2009 Earlier this year, journalist Dan Box won recognition from environmentalist George Monbiot for documenting the world’s first climate change evacuation, of the Carteret islands in the South Pacific. Now, he returns to his experiences to ask if this is the first evacuation Continue Reading →
East-west tussle erupts over bill for combating climate change
East-west tussle erupts over bill for combating climate change
- The Guardian, Friday 30 October 2009
- Article history
EU credibility is at stake over deal to finance global fight against climate change. Photograph: John Giles/PA
European leaders were locked in an east-west tussle over how to foot the bill for combating climate change, a key issue seen as a test of European credibility on global warming in the run-up to the Copenhagen conference in December.
National Grid plan for local waste-to-biogas plants
National Grid plan for local waste-to-biogas plants
Ecologist
8th October, 2009
Electricity operator National Grid believes that with the right Government incentives, renewable gas could be produced from our waste and fed straight into the mains
Less than a year after announcing that up to half the UK’s homes could be heated with renewably generated ‘biogas’ derived from food waste, National Grid has unveiled a bold plan for how the gas could be produced on a local level.
Emissions trading hits the poor
Emissions trading hits the poor
Scrap this regressive fuel tax and let countries be prosperous and free enough to cope with the effects of climate change
-
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 30 October 2009 09.00 GMT
- Article history
When the Grocer magazine accused Ken Clarke of planning to increase the rate of VAT on domestic fuel and power bills in 1997 it was a political scandal.
He was quick to deny their report. But, as our study released this morning shows, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is now effectively doing just what the Grocer accused Clarke of planning. The ETS is now costing British consumers £3bn a year – equivalent to around £117 per family, and a large part of that bill is coming through higher electricity prices. When combined with other climate change policies such as the Renewables Obligation, it now accounts for 14% of the average household electricity bill. Yet, what percentage of the population even knows these policies exist, let alone how much they’re paying for them?