Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Exhibit 5: The Howard Conspiracy Against An Australian Soil Carbon Trading Market
Economics commentator of the Sydney Morning Herald Ross gittins reveals why John Howard will never introduce a carbon trading scheme:
"If you think the cost of greenhouse gas abatement is high or uncertain, whereas the marginal benefit of abatement is small (because greenhouse gases are a stock that has built up over many years and one year's worth of abatement doesn't make much difference to the total stock), then you'd probably favour a carbon tax because that would give you control over the price and thus the economic cost you were incurring.
"Alternatively, if you accept that the cost to the economy of not achieving a significant reduction in emissions - such as Sir Nicholas's target of achieving a 60 per cent reduction in annual emissions by 2050 - would be unacceptably high, then you'd favour a carbon trading scheme because that would give you direct control over the quantity of emissions."
"If you think the cost of greenhouse gas abatement is high or uncertain, whereas the marginal benefit of abatement is small (because greenhouse gases are a stock that has built up over many years and one year's worth of abatement doesn't make much difference to the total stock), then you'd probably favour a carbon tax because that would give you control over the price and thus the economic cost you were incurring.
"Alternatively, if you accept that the cost to the economy of not achieving a significant reduction in emissions - such as Sir Nicholas's target of achieving a 60 per cent reduction in annual emissions by 2050 - would be unacceptably high, then you'd favour a carbon trading scheme because that would give you direct control over the quantity of emissions."
