CARBON HYPOCRICY

  • 2007-08-08
  • by Nick Van Ostren, Tallinn
I was interested to read that both Estonia and Latvia have decided to challenge the European Commission over the cuts to their carbon emissions quota.
Until they were stripped of their overly-generous quotas, these two nations were quite happy to sell away their emission rights to high-poluting industries and pocket the cash.
They enjoyed the benefits of a system which gave them more than they deserved in the first place. The only reason East European nations were given such big quotas in the first place was because of an unfair formula that took into account their status as developing nations.

While other nations around the world expressed concern about Eastern Europe's overly-generous emissions quotas, Estonia and Latvia sold their shares and used the money to continue funding dirty power stations.
They should have been using this money to fund cleaner power stations, like wind farms.
Of course, this argument is overshadowed by the stupidity of the carbon trading scheme, which only serves to allow rich countries and companies to keep destroying the earth without concern.

Instead of wasting more money on a court challenge, Estonia and Latvia should start investigating ways of weaning themselves off dirty power.
 

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