We have all probably heard about carbon emissions trading but not many of us know what it is and does it really work to reduce the carbons being emitted into our air.
So how does the carbon emissions trading scheme work? My take on this is that a government works out how much carbon emissions are sent into the air for each industry (company).
It then reduces the total by a percentage in order to meet their international obligations.
Each industry has to then meet the reduced target or pay a fine depending on how much they are over.
Where the carbon emissions trading scheme comes in is that when an industry reduces it's emissions below the fines level it can sell the amount it is below to industries (companies) allowing them either to avoid the fines or emit more emissions.
Isn't this like a wife abuser donating to a woman's refuge to offset beating his wife? So how are these industries (companies) suddenly reducing their emissions that enables them to reduce their emissions not only by the governments required amount but enough to enable them to sell them to other companies so that they can use them as carbon offsets.
You would think that if they have managed to do this they would have been able to do it before the carbon-trading scheme came into existence.
Trouble with large (and even small) companies I guess there is a certain amount of creative accounting going on.
Apart from all this there is one very fatal flaw in this that affects you the consumer.
All companies are out to make a profit so if the bottom line suffers because of big fines, what do they do, they just put up the costs of their product to you and me.
The same occurs with those companies who meet or reduce their carbon emission targets.
If there is a cost to this that affects their bottom line once again they put up the cost of their products to us.
So in effect it is the usually scamming by big business (I make no apologies calling it scamming) that actually does nothing to reduce carbon emissions.
A sleight of hand that gives the appearance of reducing emissions, in fact all it seems to have done is create another great way for new companies to appear that actually trade carbon emissions and make money, probably the only winners out of this.
So once again as with other things with the carbon emissions trading scheme we are having the wool pulled over our eyes mainly by politicians trying to make it seem that they are doing something about global warming but trying to do it in such a way that will appease the outcry from those monolithic polluting companies.
The carbon emissions trading scheme is a non-event as far as saving our planet.