BBC NEWS | Programmes | File on 4 | Carbon trade scheme ‘is failing’
Why doesn’t this surprise me:
bq. “The EU’s Emission Trading Scheme – a key part of the UK Government’s drive to combat climate change – began in 2005 and created a trade in carbon allowances.
It is essentially a permit to pollute.
Power generators received their allowances free of charge but were allowed to reflect the value of those in increased prices to customers, as if the companies had actually had to buy the allowances.
Energywatch believes this increased electricity bills by about 7% in 2005…delivered windfall profits of up to £1.3bn to the generators in that year…
However, so far the carbon scheme has brought no clear payback in terms of cutting emissions.”
Carbon trading is an interesting idea, but needless to say, when the UK govt gets involved it seems to fall apart.