Carbon Credit fraud causes more than 5 billion euros damage for European Taxpayer

[rayofreason]

Source: EUROPOL

The Hague - The Netherlands.

The European Union (EU) Emission Trading System (ETS) has been the victim of fraudulent traders in the past 18 months. This resulted in losses of approximately 5 billion euros for several national tax revenues. It is estimated that in some countries, up to 90% of the whole market volume was caused by fraudulent activities.

Read more: http://www.europol.europa.eu/index.asp?page=news&news=pr091209.htm

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Well, with trillions more in carbon credits to be proposed, what could go wrong?

[JonQ]

1. You mean some people are supporting this stuff

just to make money? Surely you jest! Only the oil companies have a financial incentive in this whole mess. No one else cares about money at all.

[unabelladonna]

12. wow, i'm shocked

these charlatans are making money off of air...why am i not surprised? cap and trade must be stopped (sorry al).

[WriteDown]

2. Must be some kind of error somewhere....

I just had 100 trees planted in Siberia to offset my flight last week....at least that's what the company told me???

[JonQ]

13. I don't know if it's wise

to try to plant trees in siberia right now. You'd need a power drill to get through the permafrost in much of it.

Although I'm sure there is a company in china that will do the task for us. Or at least, take the money and make a promise.

[Psephos]

17. Very interesting...

I just had a flight to Copenhagen to offset your planting of a hundred trees. ;)

That makes me greener than you...at least, that's what the Copenhagen delegates told me???

[rayofreason]

18. Did you fly Aeroflot?

They give carbon indulgences,...er...offsets instead of frequent flyer miles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/business/energy-environment/08carbon.html

[Psephos]

24. whoa, that's as disturbing as it is ironic n/t

[WriteDown]

22. Darn...

I've got to have more trees planted by my cap and trade company immediately.

[Psephos]

25. I believe your best bet is the Chicago Carbon Credit Exchange (CCX)

Your sin = Al Gore's win! (CCX is part-owned by AG's Generation Investment Management)

He can use your money to help pay for gas for his 100-ft houseboat.



an interesting, if dated, discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3751336

[CHIMO]

3. Simple Solution

It is called tax.

[kestrel91316]

4. What if they threw a denialist sockpuppet party and nobody came?

Toodles, you clowns.

[rayofreason]

6. Oblivious to corruption...

...but I guess that when ignorance is bliss, things like corruption and scientific misconduct don't matter very much.

[WriteDown]

20. Denialists?

Sounds a lot like "infidels!" :)

[JonQ]

21. I prefer heretic

[notesdev]

23. They're trying to elide away from "denier"

since people are calling them on the intended parallel to the Holocaust now.

It must be so difficult to be a Warmer, having to shift language every time one gets caught.

"Global Warming" -> "climate change"
"denier" -> "denialist"

wonder what Orwellian manipulation is next on the menu?

[notesdev]

5. LOL

We got a real group of winners on our hands here with these Warmers don't we. What scam will they pull next?

[The Straight Story]

7. The fundies got their end times, other people need similiar things too

:)

[JonQ]

15. I wonder why

that is such a popular belief, a collective need within the population even. The world has to be ending dammit! Why?

[JonQ]

14. I think we've seen the best of it

cap and trade and buying indulgences er I mean paying to offset your carbon footprint are pretty good scams.

Billions stand to be made (trillions in the long run). And yet people insist that the only ones with a financial stake in this whole mess are the oil companies.

Exxon is biased because they want to make money, al gore who stands to be the worlds first carbon billionaire (by producing nothing, just transferring credits around) speaks nothing but the unvarnished truth.

[JVS]

8. Quelle surprise!

[FreakinDJ]

9. Change we can beleive in

Gawd I hope Obama scraps the whole Carbon Credit Scam

[Andronex]

10. Now it seems that the rich western countries...

want to transfer the authority on policy of global warming and the administration of "pollution credits" to the central bankers, away from the united nations. I for one am quite relieved to hear this, nothing can go wrong now...

[Crowman1979]

11. Predatory Capitalism and Social Actions don't mix!

In fact, Predatory Capitalism cannibalizes the later.

[girl gone mad]

16. Cap and Trade will be a disaster.

The derivatives at the center of the carbon trading scheme were created by the same person who invented credit default swaps. It's a meltdown/bailout waiting to happen.

[Ghost Dog]

19. Well, surely worst would be no deal at all.

Best would be direct tax on both GHG producers and consumers.

I'm worried too about the trading part of cap and trade. Regulation will need to be strict and effective. But what will be most vital, surely, will be the application, and progressive tightening, of the caps.

[SOS]

26. Wall Street gearing up for their next great robbery

Between carbon trading and life insurance "securitization" we're in for more wild profiteering followed by another brutal collapse.
Next time, let's hope Congress says "piss off" when they come begging for bailouts.