FTC Carbon Offset Investigation Previews Cap and Trade’s Imminent Failure
Conn Carroll /
But the farce behind market inspired solutions does not end with carbon offsets. The same problems that dog carbon offset markets have also rendered the cap and trade systems adopted by Europe and other
The Stern Report suggests we need a price for a ton of carbon emissions of $20, rising to $30, $40 or even $50 to stabilize [the level of CO2 in the atmosphere] at manageable levels. But there is a good chance that the carbon credits that are meant to provide incentives for reducing emissions will be available for next to nothing.
Since virtually all economic activity produces some carbon, any effective cap and trade system would require legions of skilled technicians to monitor carbon reductions. These technicians simply do not currently exist. Furthermore, the leading seller of carbon credits last year was China and it is highly doubtful that if millions of scientists were ever trained, that they would have the access and freedom of movement necessary to do their job adequately.
Without the monitoring necessary to make sure carbon credit benefits are actually being produced, any cap and trade system will ultimately prove ineffective as unverifiable projects flood carbon credit demand with unverifiable supply. The only winners of a cap and trade system will be the lobbyists in Washington who rake in millions finding loopholes for their clients.