A Response to Climate Change

Thoughts after Copenhagen

I had not expected participants to conclude a final agreement in Copenhagen, but I have been surprised by the reported lack of progress. The issues to be tackled are fiendishly complex, but this does not explain how the drafts available at the start of the conference seem to have been dropped after two weeks of talks and replaced on the last day by the non-binding Copenhagen Accord. Whether this is simply a reflection of the fact that a lot more countries and vested interests are now involved in the process of negotiation, I cannot say but I do think the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) team will need to demonstrate some real progress over the next few months, or a new Kyoto Protocol or a successor agreement may not happen.

The 'Carbon Tax' on UK Motorists

A simple exercise to convert the duty on petrol to an equivalent carbon tax shows that motorists in the UK are paying some €1,000 or $1,500 per tonne of carbon emitted for the privilege of driving a car! This may be compared with the price of a carbon dioxide permit purchased under Phase II of the EU's scheme whose equivalent cost currently only amounts to some €15 x 44/12 = €55 per tonne of carbon emitted.