A carnival spirit filled Durban’s streets on Friday when scores of people took part in a parade to welcome climate change conference delegates. … Labour concedes defeat in New Zealand …
http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2011/11/25/green-parade-in-durban-greets-cop-17

Use your bicycle or skateboard to get to work monday!

Who are the NZ delegates?

Dragging this amount out of the returns to livestock farmers would trigger a round of foreclosures such as the country has never before experienced.

In the last “bad year” (2008-9) aggregate after-tax profits for the entire livestock farming industry in New Zealand were $462 million.

“Swiss banking giant UBS says the European Union’s emission trading scheme has cost the continent’s consumers $287 billion for “almost zero impact” on cutting carbon emissions, and has warned that the EU’s carbon pricing market is on the verge of a collapse next year.

“In a damning report to cients, UBS (a major carbon trader) says had the E210bn the scheme had cost consumers been used instead in a targeted approach to replace the EU’s dirtiest power plants, emissions could have been reduced by 43%..”

Describing the ETS as having “limited benefits and embarassing consequences”, the report said there was fading political support for the scheme .. and it had provided windfall profits to market participants, paid for by electricity consumers.”

[Afterthought: except the odd IPO of course]

“…….scandals in the EU emissions trading scheme, including carbon permit theft, tax fraud, re-use of U.N. carbon credits and internet scams”

Still, recycling is a green initiative – why not apply the concept to other green initiatives?

the eventual price expected to bottom out as low as €3, having already dropped to €5.26 for the December 2011 contract.

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2011/11/collapse-of-policy.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/22/us-carbon-climate-idUSTRE7AL1GE20111122

Carbon Waste from the Australian
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/europes-287bn-carbon-waste-ubs-report/story-fn59niix-1226203068972

From the Herald
Labour, however, is counting on a revenue stream – a cumulative $680 million over the next four years – to partially defray the cost of its tax policy.

From http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20111125-312526.html
Climate Change Minister Nick Smith has said if re-elected National will slow down the expansion of the ETS, keep the NZ$25 a tonne price cap until 2015, but wait until 2014 before deciding whether the agricultural sector, which accounts for around half of the country’s carbon emissions, will be included in the ETS.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2065954/Climate-change-fears-exaggerated-say-scientists-claim-apocalyptic-predictions-unlikely.html