Carbon Offsetting - how everyone in the media is discovering what a fucking fraud it is

Channel 4 have a Dispatches program tonight exposing the fraudulent "carbon offset" bizniz which Lord Patel has been doing for a long time -see all these posts.

It is called The Great Green Smoke Screen Channel 4 News science correspondent Tom Clarke dissects the many 'solutions' to global warming being marketed to onsumers, from tree-planting and carbon offsetting to green energy tariffs, and reveals how attempts to buy our way out of climate crisis may (good weasel word here - don't commit yourself Tom) be making things worse.

He is not the only one.. this is a good place to start ...

"Carbon Trading: A Critical Conversation on Climate Change, Privatisation and Power" a product of the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation.Which they call their Development Dialogue 2006:September, no.48 You can download (PDF alert) the whole 350 odd pages or (recommended) 6 seperate chapters.

OR

Better still obtain a free copy by e-mailing Kajsajsa.overgaard@dhf.uu.se or (in Britain only) larrylohmann@gn.apc.org or secretariat@dhf.uu.se or Fax: +46-18-12 20 72

This is how they outline the plot in an arch and quaint fashion but does give you an idea of the content - read and judge for yourself.

Chapter 1 A new fossil fuel crisis/ In which the growing climate crisis is traced mainly to the mining of coal, oil and gas; the dangers to survival and livelihood are outlined; the political nature and implications of the problem explored; and reasonable and unreasonable solutions sketched.

Chapter 2 ‘Made in the USA’ / A short history of carbon trading In which the surprising story is told of how corporations, academics, governments, United Nations agencies and environmentalists united around a neoliberal or ‘market’ approach to climate change emanating from North America.

Chapter 3 Lessons unlearned / In which carbon trading, contrary to slogans about the universal eff ectiveness of markets in dealing with environmental and social problems, is shown to be ill-suited to addressing climate change. The experience of the US in pollution trading is demonstrated to be an argument not for, but rather against, making carbon markets the centrepiece of action on global warming.

Chapter 4 Off sets / The fossil economy’s new arena of conflict In which it is shown how projects designed to compensate’ for continued fossil fuel use are helping to dispossess ordinary people of their land, water, air – and futures.

Chapter 5 Ways forward / In which the claim that ‘there is no alternative’ to carbon trading is dissected and set aside, and emerging alliances for a more democratic and effective climate politics are explored.

Pollution trading the authors have belatedly recognised is a completely new idea, foisted on the world by a small circle of neoliberal institutions in the US. Surprise - Surprise !! Pollution trading’s main appeal is that it promises to save make money for the rich over the short term.

As a pollution control policy, it is sure to fail..... ahem .. in Europe where it HAS been tried ...it has FAILED ... the ETS market closed on Friday at just 12 cents, the lowest ever....having made a lot of traders, lawyers, accountants, banks very rich on the way and many credulous investors much poorer.All credit to media lens for finally realising what twats they have been all these years as the wool has been ever so gently pulled over their eyes... quite how difficult is it to deprive children of their candy ?

Pssssst.... want to stop somebody doing something? - tax and regulate, admittedly it has limited itility eg. European fuel taxes cf USA ... but of course it depends what you do with the taxes you raise.. the European Gubments just piss them up against the wall.

Anyway read the report - 350 pages but it's big type on artfully landscaped pages and the text boxes a la US textbooks makes reading easier ... the Bibliography is excellent. See also ....See also "Obscenity' of carbon trading" by Kevin Smith in the BBC Green Room , he is a researcher with Carbon Trade Watch, a project of the Transnational Institute which studies the impacts of carbon trading on society and the environment.Also by him "Stern Words While in Europe They are trading Hot air" also at (http://www.thepolitician.org/)

"Labour MP Gerry Steinberg described the scheme as a ‘mockery’ and an ‘outrageous waste of public money’.""A massively generous allocation resulted in windfall profits for some of the UK’s most polluting companies, to the collective value of £940 million according to Franck Schuttelar, an analyst at the energy-trading firm Gaselys

.""Waiting yet more years to learn further lessons from the next round of
ineffective emissions trading is a luxury we don’t have."

See also his "Carbon Cop outs" - He is also co-author of The Carbon Neutral Myth: offset indulgences for your climate sins, forthcoming in January 2007.See also Climate Fraud and Carbon Colonialism: The New Trade in Greenhouse Gases (pdf alert)by Heidi Bachram CAPITALISM NATURE SOCIALISM VOLUME 15 NUMBER4 (DECEMBER 2004)
"The changes necessary to avert climate catastrophe are simple enough, namely, a switch away from fossil fuels and to renewable energy like solar and wind, along with a reduction in energy use generally."

You can watch Channel 4 Live on the net anywhere by going here and logging in.

An infuriating program with a few nuggets of information and a lot of footage of the telegenic reporter sitting at a laptop loking puzzled.

It has been said before ... carbon offsets are the equivalent of the mediaeval church selling indulgencies - if you don't know what they are Google it.

There is one effective way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions - and New Zealand have recently introduced it. An energy tax. Not the complete answer, not the only answer but a good start. Carbon trading just fills the wallets of financiers and their lawyers, advisors, consultants, and PR boosters. They found their top shill in the hapless, hopeless, chinless Margaret Beckett who thankfully appears to have gone to that great Caravan in the sky.

Biofuels plc - all that is green is not golden

Lord Patel advised readers that on Friday 30 June 2006, Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, MP., the Prime Minister visited the Biofuels Corporation to open their Seal Sands plant -Teesside 1 where he met Mike Buzzacott BA. FCCA the Chairman and accountant who took over in March this year after 34 years at BP and was Group VP Petrochemicals.

Well there was a lot of happy talk about bright prospects... that have gone horribly sour in 12 months.

Now one year later the Company have put out a note for their Investors and shareholders on proposed re-structuring of the group .. and notification of an EGM on the 23rd July at 10.30 am when Investors will need to accept liquidation or under terms proposed in which Barclays effectively write off a debt of £40Mn they will take 94% of a new holding company (Newco) which will run the company.

Mike Buzzacot who 12 months ago was glad handing the PM says ..."The Board has concluded that ,given the existing financial structure..... The Board has accordingly succeeded in agreeing the terms of restructuring with Barclays ... unanimously recommended by the Board"

The Board explain that problems with the plant design (they are currently claiming against the suppliers Energea Umwellttechnologie GmbH for a "potential claim in respect of design deficiencies) higher vegetable oil prices, lower biodiesel prices - depressed by US biofuel production subsidies, and the high $/£ exchange rate have impacted plant operation, sales and profitability.


Fixed Assets are boooked at £34 Mn. with Liabilities of £96 Mn. and shareholders with negative £62 Mn and trading losses last year of £32 Mn.


Following the restructuring the Company (Biofuels plc) will own 6% of what is left and the shares will cease to be traded on the AIM market.

Poor old Tony, as soon as he walked away the share price started dropping.

One of the Directors leaving is Clare Spottiswoode CBE well known as Director General of OFGAS where she had a spat with US smooth but tough guy Richard Giordano, when she demanded BG be split so that it no longer had an interest in restricting access to gas pipes to keep its retail prices high - now of course making Centrica an assailable target for GAZprom.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are apparently much impressed with this forceful lady and Downing Street and the Treasury asked her for advice over the then head of head of the telecoms regulator, David Edmonds about the take up of Broadband services. (Why do they so like tough lady cookies ? Sally Morgan, Anji Hunter, Carole Chaplin, the simply beautiful Lady Amos, Ruth Turner, Shriti Verdara , Baroness Scotland, Tessa Jowell, Patricia Hewitt ...mother figures or repressed homosexuals ?) - at the time she was also a Director of British Energy.

Claire Spottiswoode has also been a Director of Booker plc and when appointed to Biofuels was deputy Chairman at British Energy, a Director of Oslo based Petroleum Geophysical Services, and Chairman of Economatters a subsidiary of Crisil the Indian Credit Rating Agency ,director of Tullow Oil and Advanced Technology (UK). - un surprisingly she also Chairman of a Children's Nursey aptly called Busy Bees.

EconoMatters is the holding company of Gas Strategies Consulting Limited, Alphatania Limited, Overview Conferences Limited and Gas Matters Limited and was founded by Ms. Clare Spottiswoode Chairman, James Ball President and Chief Mentor, and David Ledesma Managing Director and Chief Executive who sold out to CRISIL on December 17th 2003.

They publish the excellent review journals for the gas industry Gas Matters, Gas Matters Today, LNG Focus and GasMatters Online - at the time Lord Patel, an avid reader felt Mr Ravimohan made a very shrewd move and got a bargain....and he also represented the vision of the emerging Asian energy players.

If you want to be well informed on Natural Gas / LNG / Energy matters these are essential reading - try this round up on the global LNG market and current / future demand and supply trends.

as a taster..

"In Barcelona , Mohamed Hassan Marican said that “LNG demand is expected to grow to 375 million tonnes by 2015” – an average of 10%/year – while “current forecasts indicate LNG production capacity will grow at about 8%/year until 2015, almost doubling the current volume”.

However, Marican introduced a note of realism by going on to point out that there have been few new project launches in recent times. Contrary to expectations at the start of 2006, the only green-field liquefaction project to reach final investment decision last year was Peru LNG. Moreover, several projects currently under construction are facing substantial delays.

“There are now serious concerns,” said Marican, “that there will be a supply crunch by 2010”.

You don't see that in the City Pages... now go and read about New Zealand's recently introduced energy / carbon tax - the world's first. it is not the only answer, it isn't the complete answer but ot sure as hell beats the fucking crazy carbon trading scheme the gamablers and munni jugglers of Europe are forcing down our throats.