[Carbon trading: a carbon tax, blindfolded and handcuffed, with its shoelaces tied together] by Gar Lipow at the Gristmill Blog
-------------------------------- "Mommy, where do carbon offsets come from?" "Well, you see sweetheart, when a major polluter and a consultant love money very, very much, they express that love in a special way. Nine months later, the consultant produces an extremely large paper packet." ------------------------------------------------------ In theory, carbon taxes and carbon trading yield similar results.(Carbon taxes raise the price of fossil fuels by taxing it. Permits raise the price of fossil fuels by requiring people to buy permits for each unit burned) So why do so many people who support carbon taxes oppose carbon trading? Because in practice they differ catastrophically, something we have good reasons to expect. To read the rest: http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/12/3/13597/2556
