EJ (Environmental Justice) Matters http://www.ejmatters.org/ 41 environmental and social justice groups across the nation have now signed on to the Declaration which started with 18 groups in California (linked below) against the use of carbon trading schemes to address climate change. The Climate Change Action Group of Central NY is one of them. The statements question trading and offsets, particularly their impact on the poor, and the site also features articles about the comparative benefits of the carbon tax. One of the sites listed under Resources is Sylvester Johnson’s federalcarbontax.org EJ Coalition Opposes Carbon trading http://www.ejmatters.org/CarbonTrading.html On Tuesday, February 19, 2008, Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates gathered at 5 locations across California for a teleconference to discuss the release of The California Environmental Justice Movement's Declaration Against Use of Carbon Trading Schemes to Address Climate Change. The Declaration details the environmental justice community’s opposition to the use of carbon trading and offsets because of their failure to achieve actual emissions reductions, the irreconcilable problems with trading experiments and offset use, and because of their inability to cause a timely fundamental change in the way we make and use energy. Rather, EJ advocates are calling for policies that focus on moving the state away from the fossil fuel infrastructure because such fuels are the overwhelming contributor to climate change and have devastating impacts on poor, low-income and communities of color in California and around the world. The coalition supports use of consistent carbon pricing mechanisms such as a carbon fee. Internationally known environmental expert, Larry Lohman from the U.K., joined the call from Sacramento. He is a founder of the international Durban Group and editor of Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power, which documents the numerous failures of the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and oppression in the Global South from the use of carbon offsets. Lohman stated, "“The experience from Europe’s [Emissions Trading Scheme] has been a well-documented disaster. Emissions actually increased, the worst polluters were given the largest windfall profits in record, energy costs for consumers increased, and the use of global ‘offsets’ funded oppressive projects the world over. The U.S. should really learn from Europe’s mistakes. Not copy them." Please visit our "Media Page" for a full press packet about the event, and the "Resources" page for our factsheet, The Cap and Trade Charade for Climate Change, further background information, and links to relevant articles and websites. Increasingly, people are speaking out against carbon trading--economists, politicians, businesses, and activists. The Wall Street Journal published the opinion "it would make money for some very large corporations. But don't believe for a minute that this charade would do much about global warming.” Cap and trade is not inevitable. We have the power to help direct policies toward a genuine transition to a clean energy economy. Environmental Justice, public health, human rights, and other community groups and individuals across California, the United States, and the world are coming together in opposition to carbon trading and to achieve real solutions to the climate change crisis. Join us. Sign-on to our Declaration. Environmental Justice Organizations Across the Country and Internationally Come Together to Support Real Reductions in Fossil Fuel Use to Address Climate Change February 19, 2008, Environmental Justice Organizations in California released The California Environmental Justice Movement's Declaration Against Use of Carbon Trading Schemes to Address Climate Change. Since the release of the Declaration people and organizations across California, the Country, and the World have added their voices to ours —calling for a rejection of trading schemes and offsets in favor of real reductions in fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Listen to us talk about our effort on Living On Earth. Emissions Trading is an approach that will not work to address the critically important task of reducing greenhouse gases. Read the two Los Angeles Times Editorials ( California's cap-and-trade won't work and Time to tax carbon ), the Wall Street Journal Editorial ( Cap and Charade ), Michael Bloomberg’s position on trading as reported by the New York Times (Bloomberg Calls for Tax on Carbon Emissions ), and Al Gore’s call for a carbon tax in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. See the long and growing list of opposition to trading on our Resources page. Even the Congressional Budget Office supports a carbon tax (we advocate for a carbon fee in California) over a trading scheme! We believe there is a better way to ensure success of California’s greenhouse gas reductions efforts that also supports community health and long-term environmental sustainability: establishing policies that focus on moving the state away from fossil fuels because such fuels are the overwhelming contributor to climate change and have devastating impacts on low-income communities and communities of color. Such policies include: Demand reduction (like energy efficiency from both industrial and residential activities); Increase use of clean, non-nuclear renewables for energy production (by increasing the renewable portfolio standard that must be met by both investor-owned and municipal energy providers and by removing barriers to renewable deployment); Putting a price on carbon by establishing a carbon fee and investing the proceeds in emissions reductions and speeding the development of California’s clean energy economy. Add your voice to the growing effort to abandon the failed policy of carbon trading and offsets use-- Get Involved! Declaration http://www.ejmatters.org/declaration.html Carbon “Offsets” http://www.ejmatters.org/offsets.html Biofuels http://www.ejmatters.org/biofuels.html Resources http://www.ejmatters.org/resources.html _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
