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Carbon Tax, ETS and Political Obfuscation
by sal Tuesday, Aug 28 2012, 12:50am
international / prose / post

It's a move toward a Penalty Economy with Banks and Corporations as the clear Winners

The story below is yet another mass media sell story on the Banker and Corporate designed Carbon Tax/ETS PENALTY scheme. After the EU and other nations put a price on Carbon -- air will be next as water already carries a price, unless of course you are a Transnational mining company like BHP mining in South Australia which pays nothing while drastically depleting the nation's valuable artesian basin water resource, but I digress -- what happened to the CO2 levels in the atmosphere since Kyoto?

BHP's Olympic Dam Uranium mine South Australia - an environmental and pollution disaster

They increased dramatically to RECORD levels every successive year until today; CO2 levels have not been reduced one iota since the EU and other countries introduced an ETS. The Southern Ocean has been working overtime absorbing millions of tons of carbon from the atmosphere, but at great long term cost I would add. That is the HARD REALITY regarding Carbon emissions.

The reason and consequences of these blowout carbon levels are known and catastrophe was predicted by a group of CSIRO scientists back in the 70's.

It is because tipping point for runaway climate change has (ALREADY) been breached and runaway climate change is now a REALITY, so deal with it! However, penalising the people with a Tax is not a reduction solution, it is what it is, a SOURCE of REVENUE! The problem is perverse cultural values, specifically that 'profit is God' and the bottom line is sacrosanct; a perverse value that has propelled the world to the current climate disaster.

Major polluters could have reduced their emissions but were not willing to impact their bottom line so they cleverly designed a penalty tax/trading scheme that would shift responsibility and COST onto the people, nice trick but very characteristic of bankers and corporate CEOs.

The people as usual fell for it with only some minor griping and protest activity when in fact they should have taken over political capitals to ensure the future viability and sustainability of the earth and future generations. But of course we are asking the people to save their own lives, an action which they are clearly incapable of!

The major global direction for humanity has not altered, it remains nihilistic and dystopian, pure entropic oblivion. I would add that major polluters are entirely capable of reducing over 90% of their emissions NOW but at the cost of massive reductions in profits -- so its a matter of values, which refers us back to the "profit is God" perverse and suicidal value system of Bankers and Corporates.

That perverse value is maintained and guarded by all banks and corporates which predict economic doom if their bottom line is affected -- it's a LIE -- as real DOOM would definitely be the reality if bankers and corporatists are allowed to continue UNREGULATED by 'people's governments,' which unfortunately do not exist anywhere on the planet at this time!

However, we are able to change the suicidal status quo anytime we collectively wish. Now take a guess, which UNNECESSARY industries create the most pollution? Yes, weapons, defence and military associated industries, which ensure, regardless of ETS schemes, that they are never affected by the whims of puppet government regulations!

Peace and a sustainable world is there for the taking but it requires pulling our thumbs out of our arses and actively forcing change, so the show is over, isn't it sheeple?

More diversions from the mass media follow:

Australia to link with European Union Emissions Trading Scheme in 2015

THE federal government has scrapped its planned floor on the carbon price under a deal which links Australia to the European Union emissions trading scheme (ETS), the world's biggest carbon market.

However, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said it would not create a budget shortfall and households would still be compensated even if the price falls.

Mr Combet told reporters Australia's price on carbon from July 1, 2015 will be linked to the European Union ETS and the planned floor price of $15 per tonne "won't be implemented''.

He said a second change would put a 12.5 per cent limit on the use of cheap Kyoto carbon units, which can sell for a third of the cost of European units, which are trading around $9.80.

"From 1 July, 2015, Australia's carbon price will effectively be the same as that that operates in our second largest trading bloc,'' Mr Combet said.

Full linkage of the markets will occur no later than July 1, 2018.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the changes showed the government - which previously argued the floor price was essential for business certainty - did not know what it was doing with the carbon tax.

"You can't fix it. You've just got to scrap it,'' Mr Abbott told reporters in Rockhampton.

"We haven't had the carbon tax for two months yet and they've admitted there is a fundamental flaw at the heart of the carbon tax.''

Mr Abbott said there would be a ``huge hole'' in the budget as a result of the decision.

"If you can't take the price for granted, you can't take the revenue for granted, and if you can't take the revenue for granted, you can't rely on the compensation,'' he said.

Mr Combet was asked if it would create a budget shortfall, rather than the estimated $9.4 billion of revenue a market-based price was predicted to generate in the 2015/16 budget.

"We stand by the budget as it was announced in May,'' he said.

"How about we have a bit of trust in that, than some ridiculous allegation made by (Opposition Leader) Tony Abbott about the impact of carbon pricing.''

Mr Combet said the government would not cut household assistance payments and tax cuts set up to compensate for the price impacts of the carbon tax in the economy.

"We committed to it and you might recall that there are further tax cuts that have been legislated from 2015 as well,'' he said.

Mr Combet had previously said a floor price would provide certainty, confidence and stability for business.

But business chiefs wanted to move to a fully flexible market price as soon as possible.

"This delivers certainty to businesses that will have a liability under the Australian scheme because they will have access to largest carbon market in the world,'' he said.

"There are sophisticated markets that have developed in Europe - futures markets that will give businesses a great deal of confidence, access to financial organisations expert in dealing with those matters to allow them to reliably predict what their carbon price liability might be.''

Under the full arrangement, businesses will be allowed to use carbon units from the Australian ETS or the European Union ETS for compliance under either system.

Mr Combet said businesses would be able start buying European units from Tuesday in order to comply with the scheme from July 1, 2015.

He said it would not be in Australia's national interest for Mr Abbott to scrap the scheme if the coalition wins power at the federal election due in late 2013.

"This is a manageable, rational, reasonable economic and environmental reform,'' Mr Combet said.

"And he cannot, and will not, repeal it - this only demonstrates further why he won't.''

Federal Independent MP Rob Oakeshott says linking Australia's carbon price to the European carbon market will have national and global benefits.

Labor will need the agreement of parliament, including the Greens and cross-benches, to scrap the floor price for carbon emission permits and set a limit on the use of Kyoto units by businesses.

The Greens have already backed the changes. Mr Oakeshott said he would also support the legislation.

"Through international linking, Australia further demonstrates it is doing its part in answering a global science question through a global economic response,'' he said in a statement.

"In the coming decade, linking to the EU and other emissions trading schemes will see a direct national benefit through larger trading markets, a more stable permit price, and easier options for business to trade across borders.''

He said the announcement would protect Australia's emissions trading scheme from some "very difficult decisions into the future''.

An environmental think tank has cautiously welcomed the government's move to link Australia's carbon laws to those of the European Union..

"While our preference is for a longer-term price floor than in current legislation, linking with the world's biggest carbon market is welcomed so long as it is combined with strong policies for clean energy and energy efficiency,'' Erwin Jackson, deputy chief executive of the Climate Institute said in a statement today.

He said linking to the EU would ensure the price paid by Australian firms matched those paid by firms in the EU.

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Energy needs always take precedence over pollution considerations

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