A case study
Greenhouse
gasses can now be traded online by governments and companies who want to buy
their way out of trouble without cleaning up their act.
Many environmentalists are deeply unhappy about the situation.
The launch of CO2e.com on the 27th November 2000, is
described as the world's largest market place for tradable permits in
greenhouse gas emissions. There
is much resistance against plans to allow countries that cannot, or refuse
to, meet their internationally agreed emission targets to buy emission
credits from countries that can.
One point of
contention is the way CO2e.com is expected to facilitate companies who want
to bank reductions in emissions now, to set against future legal obligations
on gases. Under the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol, a treaty that sets down principles and targets for trimming
carbon-gas pollution, there is a provision that allows for the possibility
that companies will be able to do this.
Environmentalists
deplore the inclusion of loopholes for rich nations and companies, and insist
that the goal of the talks in The Hague should be to force polluters to make
the vast majority of greenhouse gas cuts at home.
Industrial
countries are clashing on the issue, with many - notably several European
countries - agreeing with the environmentalists. However, the US and other countries - most notably Japan,
Australia and Canada - are trying to water down the Kyoto agreement, so
avoiding the need to make domestic sacrifices and cut emissions from fossil
fuel.
But regardless
of whether or not emissions trading is capped, the coming of CO2e.com means
the trade in greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) can no
longer be avoided. The site,
which describes itself as a "global hub for carbon commerce", is
about to turn the trade in greenhouse gases into one of the fastest growing
commodity markets in the world, CO2e.com's backers said.
Steve Drummond,
global leader of climate change financial advisory services for
Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which has taken part in the development of CO2e.com,
insisted that CO2e.com will not just be an online marketplace, but also an
information resource educating companies about their environmental
responsibilities.
Adapted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1032000/1032724.stm
1.
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Explain
what is meant by tradable permits.
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2.
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How can
this system of tradable permits reduce world pollution levels?
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3.
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Why do
environmentalists oppose the system of tradable permits?
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