Don’t worry about aviation expansion–it will account for the entire uk carbon budget by 2050 but it’s ok we will use the EU emissions trading scheme. Only we won’t according to the BBC the govornment aren’t even willing to pay off other members of the EU for our polluting ways. In 2008 the UK Labor Govornment has a policy of ‘lets not think or–god forbid–talk about aviation. Surely it will go dissapear from the minds of the great british public just like Douglas Adam’s idea of an SEP (someone elses probelem).

The spectacular thing is that i’ve heard Hillary Benn strongly advocating for this measure…what the hell is going on? Ok,we are working in the old paradigme where climate change isn’t the greatest threat to civilisation but a quaint little environmental issue about polar bears and fluffy animals and trees…who care, right?

The best bit is the ‘expectation’ that aviation will gain 20% of its fuel from renewable energy sources…you know, like corn ethanol, you know, the very thing that started the global food crisis, we need to give that policy wings!

Treehugger today picked up a story about Ontario and Qubec who are jointly moving ahead with a ghg emission cap and trade scheme. The significance of this is twofold, influence and direct impact. In terms of influence we are all hoping that the Canadian govornment will get its act together and put a federal system together; also Canada is one of the few countries that feature highly in the American conciousness so hopefully this will add futher to the pressure on US congressmen to implement a system soon. Lets just hope that in both cases we get progress soon, and we get progress worthy of the title.

In terms of direct impact Ontario and Qubec are only two of 13 provences but they have 60% of the population so it’s more than a purely symbolic scheme. However when Alberta is convered by such a scheme the rest of the world will rest a little easier; there is a lot of very dirty carbon intensive oil shale in Alberta and it needs to stay in the ground.

Nicholas Stern has just published a new report at LSE entitled “key elements of a global deal on climate change”.

Thanks to Treehugger for spreading the word about this, find the press conference here.

• Download the report.

Thanks to Alex from Radio Ecoshock for the link he left as a comment to my post on an innovative carbon tax that British Columbia is introducing.

Interview on the carbon tax and scientific sensorship.

The EU has had an emissions trading scheme for some time, the first revision was absurdly overallocated so the price of credits fell through the floor. We will have and wait to see how this develops, one of the major changes going forward is the movement towards a auction based system. The system is also becoming broader. With the US likely to adopt a similar system soon it’s important to take a look at what works and what dosent. The New America Foundation, the Pew Centre for Global Climate Change and the World Resources Institute have produced a series of 10 (6 currently available) detailed videos looking at every aspect of effective emissions regulation.

Video:

Webinar 1: Introduction to Cap-and-Trade Programs

Moderator: Sonia Hamel, New America Foundation
Speakers: Judi Greenwald (Pew Center), Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)

Webinar 2: Program Scope and Point of Regulation

Moderator: Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)
Speaker: Judi Greenwald (Pew Center)

Webinar 3: Electricity Sector Options

Moderator: Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)
Speakers: Richard Cowart (Regulatory Assistance Project),
Dallas Burtraw (Resources for the Future)

Webinar 4: Cap-and-Trade Design Issues in Depth, Part I: Lessons from the US/Canadian Acid Rain SO2 and NOx Trading Programs

Moderator: Judi Greenwald (Pew Center)
Speakers: Brian McLean (U.S. EPA),
Denny Ellerman (MIT),
John Hutchison (Ontario)

Webinar 5: Cap-and-Trade Design Issues In-Depth, Part II: Lessons from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

Moderator: Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)
Speakers: Peter Zapfel (The European Commission), Chris Sherry (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection & RGGI*)

Webinar 6: Design Elements in current Federal Cap-and-Trade Proposals

Moderator: Judi Greenwald (Pew Center)
Speakers: David McIntosh (Senator Lieberman’s Office), Lorie Schmidt, Counsel, Energy and Commerce Committee, US House of Representatives

>Still to come

Webinar 7: Distributing Allowances

Moderator: Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)
Speakers: Christopher Nelson (Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection*), Jill Duggan (United Kingdom, DEFRA), Kelley Kizzier (Ireland, EPA)

Webinar 8: Offsets

Moderator: Judi Greenwald (Pew Center)
Speakers: Mike Burnett (The Climate Trust), Chris Sherry (New Jersey DEP)

Webinar 9: Linking Cap-and-Trade Programs

Moderator: Sonia Hamel (New America Foundation)
Speakers: Jonathan Pershing (World Resources Institute), Damien Meadows (European Commission*)

Webinar 10: Emissions Trading Market Fundamentals

Moderator: Franz Litz (World Resources Institute)
Speakers: Olivia Hartridge (Morgan Stanley*), Gia Schneider (Credit Suisse*)

An interesting policy innovation is taking place in British Columbia (Canada). A carbon tax has been introduced; the level of the tax is modest although increasing to 2012. The interesting part is how the tax works. A charge based on emmissions will be charge on the sale of all fossil fuels. The revenues raised will then be given back to the people in a manner that is both progressive and revenue neutral overall.

The tax incentives aimed at keeping the carbon tax “revenue neutral” will be dispersed as follows: the bottom two personal income tax rates will be cut by 2 per cent in 2008 and 5 per cent in 2009 on the first $70,000 in earnings; effective July 1, the corporate tax rate will drop to 11 per cent from 12 per cent; effective July 1, the small-business tax rate will be cut from 4.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

This is one of many kinds of green tax switch that bennefit both the poor and the environment.

Related:
UK Liberal Democratic Party: Green Tax Switch
Globe and Mail Article
Carbon Tax Background and Issues
Reuters

In this statement, highlighted by the Worldwatch Institute (and translated by Google)  it looks like that the Chinese State Environmental Protection Agency sees the challenge ahead.

===

Pan Yue, deputy director of State Administration of Environmental Protection

“The introduction of economic policy environment can not wait! We should release several policies within one year, set up major pilot projects within two years, and create a fundamental framework for an environmental economic system in China within four years..”

The State Environmental Protection Administration Pan Yue, deputy director in the 9th Twelfth “Green China Forum” that outlined China’s economic policy environment timetable. Forum on Pan proposed for the first time a new environment of economic policy framework and the road map, and called on the macroeconomic sector and professional sectors together environmental and economic policy research pilot.

Pan said that the economic policy environment system is the most effective solutions to environmental problems, the best way of a long-term mechanism is an important component of macroeconomic measures part is implementing the scientific concept of development and system support.

Economic policy environment is in accordance with the laws of market economy, adopt a price, taxation, financial, credit, fees, insurance and other economic means to influence the market behavior of the main policy instruments.

Pan’s economic policy environment will be divided into seven areas:

• First, the green tax. To the development, conservation, the use of environmental resources of taxpayers units and individuals, according to the environmental resource development and use, pollution, destruction and the extent of protection levy or relief, the implementation of environment-friendly behavior tax preferential policies on the environment unfriendly act , and establish a basis for the amount of pollution emitted by the direct pollution taxes, indirect pollution based on the products of environmental taxes.
• Second, environmental charges. Raising the level of charges, in the resource price reform to take full account of environmental factors, pricing and fees to promote energy-saving reduction.
• Third, it is green capital markets. In the indirect financing channels, the implementation of “green loan” of the environment-friendly enterprises or institutions providing loans to support and implement preferential interest rates on the new projects of the enterprises in investment and liquidity lending limits and the implementation of punitive high interest rates in the direct financing channels on a set of “two high” enterprises, including the initial capital market access restrictions, limitations and the follow-up funds from the stock market and other punitive content of audit monitoring system. (a good idea which i haven’t heard much about here in the UK or in the US)
• Fourth, it is ecological compensation. This policy is not just an environmental and economic needs, but also political and strategic needs. It is necessary to improve the developed areas of less developed regions, urban to rural, affluent crowd on the poor, on the lower reaches of the upper reaches, beneficiaries of the injured party, the “two high” industries of environmental protection industries to the financial transfer payment methods ecological compensation policy . (translation not good enough for me…perhaps reperation in rural areas for resources required in cities? An attempt at stabilising social tensions using the logic  of environmental rights?)
  
• Fifth, it is trading. The use of market forces to achieve environmental protection objectives and optimize the environmental capacity of the allocation of resources, reduce the total cost of pollution control, and mobilize the enthusiasm of polluters to prevent water pollution. (water qaility credits in a market system, i believe the US currently uses this kind
• of mechanism for water qaulity)
• Sixth, green trade. For the developed countries more and more green trade barriers, China must change the simple pursuit of volume growth to the neglect of environmental capacity and resource constraints of the development model, the import and export trade and balance the interests of environmental protection at home and abroad.
• Seventh, Green insurance. Environmental liability insurance which most representative, on the one hand, by insurance companies and unforeseen pollution compensation to the victims of the government and enterprises to reduce the pressure on the one hand and enhance the market mechanism to force the supervision of enterprises sewage. (I believe that this is a requirement for environmental insurance, insurance on a large scale is often only obtanable on the conditions of an insurance company such as monitoring and independent assesment of pollution risks, this gives central govornment a way to introduce monitoring of business on business)

Pan said that any one sector and macroeconomic environment with the professional competence to lead the departments are willing to implement economic policy environment, Environmental Protection Agency will meet to be willing to do supporting roles.