Professional Soldiers ® - Debt-hit Greece sees profit in air pollution

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Debt-hit Greece sees profit in air pollution

Quote:

Debt-hit Greece sees profit in air pollution: report
Jun 12 01:34 PM US/Eastern
Greece could earn up to 170 million euros for its cash-strapped treasury from a trade of greenhouse-gas emission allowances on the Athens stock exchange, a report said Sunday.

Eleftherotypia daily said a first-ever auction of one million emission allowances (EUAs) will be held on Wednesday, ironically as many Greek factories will be shut by a general strike against the government's economic policies.

The Athens stock exchange, which is overseeing the sale alongside the Greek environment ministry, has said that 10 million EUAs will be traded this year.

Eleftherotypia said emission rights fetch up to 17 euros (24 dollars) a tonne in other parts of Europe.

Follow-up auctions will be held on the last Wednesday of every month except August and December, the stock exchange said.

Europe's Emissions Trading System (ETS) is a carbon market covering more than 12,000 power plants and factories.

"One emission allowance (EUA) gives the owner of a plant situated in a European Union member state the right to emit in the atmospheres one tonne of CO2 or an equivalent to CO2 during a certain period," the stock exchange said.

Greece is struggling to emerge from a recession exacerbated by austerity cuts mandated by the EU and the IMF in return for a 110-billion-euro loan that saved Athens from bankruptcy last year.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

This is exactly why we do not need cap and trade....

Trading a made up hypothetical allocation unit for real money. Sounds like what Bernie Madoff did.

How do I get my fair share?

Ok, I admit I am not the sharpest tack in the box when it comes to global finances and "green" initiatives, but this kind of thing boggles my mind.

1. How do you place a monetary value on pollution that can be traded in stock exchange?

2. If all you are doing is trading your pollution output for someone else's pollution output, how is that supposed to eventually decrease the total world "greenhouse gas" content?

It all sounds like so much economic chicanery to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdret1 (Post 399209)

It's actually pretty slick. You purchase the right to pollute, versus spending the additional resources to reduce pollution or reducing production.

Viola! A new commodity, which can be bought in bulk by speculators (enter Al Gore and company) and resold at a higher cost.

The best part is, like taxes, you pass the cost onto the consumers--as they ultimately pay for everything. This additional cost will ultimately pressure the consumer to reduce:

1. Their energy consumption (less money) and
2. Their material consumption (again less money)

Less demand for products will pressure manufacturers to produce less, which in turn...you get the picture.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddoering (Post 399064)

How do I get my fair share?

Get in on it early, then cash out quickly......:munchin

Stay safe.