Carbon credit purchases betray the
future
Large-scale overseas purchases of carbon credits, as
supported in these pages by Donal Buckley of Ibec, would
be ill-judged, argues Oisín Coghlan
The Government's plan to purchase at least €270
million worth of pollution permits overseas is a breach
of the spirit, and most likely the letter, of the Kyoto
Protocol on Climate Change. It is a U-turn based on
pandering to vested interests rather than sound economic
analysis. It will penalise ordinary taxpayers instead of
polluters, while failing to trigger the shift to a
sustainable economy.
The latest official projections are that, without new
policies and measures, we will exceed our Kyoto target by
35 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over the
five-year period from 2008-2012. The protocol is clear
that buying credits internationally to cover such an
overshoot can only be "supplemental to domestic actions
for the purposes of meeting commitments".
In his Budget speech on December 6th, Brian Cowen
insisted that "we will meet our Kyoto target mainly
through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in our own
economy". And yet in his very next sentence the Minister
indicated the Government planned to buy credits for 18
million tonnes of emissions, just over half Ireland's
projected overshoot.
When you factor in that Irish businesses are preparing to
buy about 10 million tonnes of credits through the EU
trading scheme that leaves a maximum of seven million
tonnes, or just 20 per cent of our overshoot, to be dealt
with through "reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in
our own economy". In such circumstances, it is hard to
come to any other conclusion than that the Dáil
was misled by the Minister. Moreover, the Government has
yet to announce any new policies to achieve those limited
domestic reductions.
Evading our Kyoto commitment in this manner is not only
indefensible, but also uneconomic. The EU reckons that
Europe's energy usage could be reduced by 20 per cent
before 2020 just by cutting energy waste, at no net
economic cost. Such an approach would bring us a long way
towards honouring Kyoto.
Investing €270 million in energy efficiency, for
example, would also reap enormous long-term benefits. It
could be done by measures such as extending the greener
homes scheme to cover insulation, tightening the building
regulations and linking stamp duty rates to the new
energy ratings for houses - the more energy efficient the
house, the lower the rate.
But it would require a seriousness of purpose and a
willingness to disturb vested interests in the building
industry that have so far been singularly lacking.
The Government's plan also violates a core principle of
sustainable development - to make the polluter pay. The
money to buy the carbon credits will come from general
taxation, in a form of stealth tax, hitting taxpayers no
matter whether they make every effort to curb their own
pollution or fail to make even a single change.
It would be much better to put a price on carbon and send
a powerful signal to individuals and companies.
Income tax, PRSI or stamp duty could be reduced
correspondingly.
Purchasing pollution permits internationally is not even
the get- out clause that the phrase "buying our way out
of Kyoto" suggests.
Whatever part of our projected emissions overshoot we
fail to cut domestically before 2012 will simply be
carried forward and added to our new reduction commitment
post-2012.
The Government's procrastination is simply storing up a
new "climate debt" Ireland will have to repay just like
the national debt that dominated public discussion in the
1980s.
Ultimately, Ireland will have to do its fair share to
prevent climate chaos and that means reducing our
greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds at the very
least.
To achieve this, the transformation needed over the next
20 years is as big as the one Ireland has experienced in
the last 20 years.
As the Stern report emphasises, if we start now the
opportunities far outweigh the costs.
If we continue to procrastinate, the following 20 years
will see an even bigger adjustment, with far more
disruptive and uncertain consequences.
Oisín Coghlan,
Director of Friends of the Earth.
© The Irish Times, 22nd. December 2006.
