Carbon credits: for or against?

Question

The carbon credit scheme: direct funds from carbon emitters to methane (etc) reduction projects; from rich to poorer countries; stimulate firms to develop carbon emission reduction mechanisms so saving extra emissions.--or do they?

The alternative argument is that they are only paying people for what they would reduce anyway and they encourage the carbon emitters to continue and even increase their dangerous emissions. Where do you stand on this issue?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7436263.stm

Answer 1

If anyone proposes to buy credits it would be appropriate that they demonstrate that they can not reasonably make the reductions themselves.

Buying credit should be used only to increase output of a significant product or service?

However, if a corporation is turning down business to stay within their cap, we have no simple way that the corporation can get credits from those who want the corporation's products. They have to go buy credits from those who have them to sell.

If for example I walk to work to cut my carbon footprint, and want to buy this corporation's product, logically I should be able to use credits from walking to work, But will we base those credits on the fact that I moved close to work and stopped driving a large pickup truck to work? If so, I had best go buy myself that pickup truck and move away from work so that I will have credits to sell by discontinuing that practise.

But we will not want to be dealing with trivial consumer  credits. We are not even trying to curtail consumer level emissions. other than preventing me from buy from a company that is stuck at its cap.

What companies stuck at their cap will do, is close their doors, send the staff home, and let the press know that they have reached their cap so will be closing for the next two months. They will just wait for the public outcry and certainly there will be one.

Politicians will rush in with adjusted cap to allow the business to carry on if the company's products are in any way important to the country. Well, why not require that they buy credits? We can not assure ourselves there will be credits available for sale.

The system starts to break down if farmers are failing to harvest crops because they have run out of cap. Are we going to fine or imprison the farmer for harvesting our daily bread?

The electric utility has run out of cap, are we going to tell them to turn off the generators for the next 2 months?

Answer 2

If set up correctly it's a very good idea.  The problem is that it needs to be done properly without loopholes.

Answer 3

global warming is a fraud. trading in carbon credits will become like school kids trading in baseball cards.

the potential for fraud is beyond comprehension