Carbon trading scams raise the temperature

CARBON trading is questionable, not merely on ethical grounds, but on economic and ecological grounds as well. Keith Bradsher highlighted a number of scams in an article in the New York Times on December 21.

He gave the example of an old, inefficient chemical factory in Quzhou in south-east China which emits as much greenhouse gases each year as a million cars in the US or Europe, each of which had clocked up 12,000 miles.

It is estimated the cost of an incinerator to clean up the mess at the factory is in the region of $5m. Yet the foreign companies involved in the deal will pay $500m for the incinerator.

The reason for this staggering 100 times increase in costs is the European-based market in carbon dioxide emissions. Because the waste gas has a far more powerful effect on global warming than carbon dioxide emissions, the foreign companies must pay a premium price way beyond the actual cost of the clean-up.

Despite the inflated costs, these deals still makes sense to the companies which are financing them because it is a lot less expensive than having to clean up their own operations.

The huge profits from the deal will be divided between the owners of the chemical factory, the Chinese government and the consultants and bankers who cobbled the deal together in the wealthy Mayfair district of London.

I wonder how much of the €270m set aside by Finance Minister Brian Cowen in his last budget will end up in the bank accounts of carbon traders to help finance their SUVs, yachts and Lear jets?

Fr Seán McDonagh

St Columban’s

Dalgan Park

Navan

Co Meath