Your overseas trip is being offset by having someone plant trees? Spare me.

[wtmusic]

A review of the new book Upsetting the Offset, which exposes the myth of carbon offsets.

"The book, which comprises 30 chapters written by some of the world’s most renowned critics of carbon markets, shows that this efficient market is a myth. All the evidence collected so far about the actual workings of carbon markets points to the alarming conclusion that carbon markets, instead of reducing carbon emissions, provide perverse incentives for the increase of carbon emissions, while also having detrimental social and environmental impacts on local communities in many so-called developing countries of the Global South."

<>

"Having presented the case studies, Part III offers a broader critique of carbon markets. What these seven chapters show is that carbon markets are not merely mechanisms to combat climate change. Instead, they must be seen in relation to the historical development of capitalism. In fact, carbon markets can be seen as the expansion of the market system to new spheres which so far have escaped commodification. This is where a crucial question needs to be asked: can we trust capitalist markets to deal with such a grave and global problem as climate change, given that capitalist production and consumption regimes have created the problem in the first place?"

http://climateinc.org/2010/03/upsetting-the-offset/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateInc+%28Climate+Inc.%29

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, it would certainly have to be better than doing NOTHING

[robinlynne]

2. I think the point of the carbon market is to make the polluters create

and pay for the means of cleaning up. Instead of just giving tax incentives to "provide green energy" polluting companies will be obliged to pay for cleanup. There are several new inventions to capture carbon, which never get off the ground. this research would become highly desired under the carbon market.

[NNadir]

Gee, and I was just thinking of flying in a corporate jet to Snowmass, Colorado

where I could worship at the sustainable temple in the sky, the Temple to the God Amory.

I figured I could plant enough trees to grow enough wood to offset the temple, not counting, of course, all the trucks required to truck the materials to the mountain top, the dangerous fossil fuels used to pump scarce water to it.

[Statistical]

3. Another example of why carbon tax is needed.

Carbon tax is foolproof system. No schemes, no trading, no complex derivatives to manipulate.

No reason the tax has to be punitive either.

Pass a tax today that doesn't take effect for 5 years.
2015 = $10 per ton of carbon
2016 = $15 per ton of carbon
2017 = $20 per ton of carbon
...

2025 = $50 per ton of carbon

Utilities tend to be planners. They won't go "hey the tax doesn't start till 2015 and isn't really bad until 2020 so lets go ahead and build this coal plant".

They will start making plans today to ensure they aren't hurt in the future.

Not only will it reduce fossil fuel usage, it will lead to better fossil fuels. Natural gas is currently more expensive than coal for producing power. At $20 per ton natural gas becomes cheaper.

Instead of 70% utilization of coal and 40% utilization of natural gas we will see that reverse. Without building any new plants, or power lines, or changing anything that alone will reduce GHG by billions of tons.

If we have any chance to cap GHG emissions much less reduce them we MUST have a carbon tax.

[joshcryer]

4. Couldn't agree more.

Wish I could rec a post.

[tinrobot]

6. Definitely the way to go.

[joshcryer]

5. They're giving the book away for free, too. How cool. Thanks for this, will read.