'Market-based Solutions to Funding Climate Change Measures' is Code for Carbon Taxes

Copenhagen Climate Summit: UN Pleads for Investment Deals to be Done

December 8, 2009

Telegraph - The United Nations executive secretary has begged companies to "do some deals" behind the scenes at the Copenhagen climate change conference to encourage market investment, as the US leaned towards more regulation on industry emissions.

Yvo de Boer's pleaded for market-based mechanisms such as carbon trading to be made a priority over regulation, after US President Barack Obama's administration decided to classify carbon dioxide as a health hazard.

US companies, including oil major ExxonMobil, on Tuesday strongly criticised the US Environmental Protection Agency's decision, saying it would cause untold harm to the energy industry.

Speaking about the US plans, Mr de Boer said:

"We all know taxes and regulation tend to be a lot less efficient and much more expensive than market based approaches."

"Please please, please, if you are a business man, do a deal in Copenhagen and please, please, please make it market-based. Because if we fail to get a market-based agreement, we will be forced to turn to tax and regulation."

However, his defence of market-based solutions to funding climate change measures came as the UN admitted its administration of global carbon offsetting, the Clean Development Mechanism, had lost its way.

The UN, which unveiled an independent review of the system by consultants McKinsey, said they needed to get the system "back to its original intent" and acknowledged it suffered long delays, poor documentation and staff shortages.

"The subjectivity is demotivating project developers," Martina Bosi, a senior carbon-finance specialist for the World Bank said at the Copenhagen conference.

The multi-billion pound Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows big utilities and heavy industry in Europe to "offset" their emissions by buying certificates from low-carbon projects, such as wind farms, in emerging nations.

But many green campaigners and investors alike argue it has not been properly monitored, allowing low-carbon project developers to engage in creative green accounting.

The UN last week banned several Chinese wind farms from participating in the scheme, having temporarily suspended the whole country, over fears they had been playing the system.

Copenhagen Must Deliver, Says UN

December 7, 2009

Reuters - The biggest climate talks in history must deliver an ambitious, sweeping agreement to capitalise on pledges by countries to fight global warming, the United Nations has said.

A day before the two-week talks in the Danish capital formally begin, the UN climate chief said time was up to agree on the outlines of a tougher climate deal after troubled negotiations have deepened splits between rich and poor nations.

"I believe that negotiators now have the clearest signal ever from world leaders to draft a solid set of proposals to implement rapid action," Yvo de Boer told reporters.

"Never in the 17 years of climate change negotiations have so many different nations made so many firm pledges together. Almost every day countries announce new targets or plans of action to cut emissions," he said.

Much is at stake at Copenhagen.

Scientists say the world is heating up because of greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels and massive deforestation.

The United Nations says the world needs a tougher climate pact to brake rapidly rising carbon pollution.

Failure to do so would mean triggering dangerous climate change such as rising seas, melting ice caps and greater weather extremes that could disrupt economies and force millions to become climate refugees.

In a show of support, 105 world leaders have said they will attend the talks' closing stages to try to seal a deal after years of bitter debates over how to divide up the burden of emissions curbs and who should pay...