Carbon Credit Card

Hi There,

According to an article featured recently in the Islamic State News Agency reports, every citizen in Britain could be issued with a carbon "credit card" to effectively ration individual use of energy sources blamed for causing climate change, according to a feasibility study published on Monday this week.

Environment Secretary David Milliband described the idea of individual carbon allowances as "a simplicity and beauty that would reward carbon thrift," and acknowledge that the plan faced technical difficulties. (JT - is he kidding? - how in the name of Sam Hill is this going to work?!! Who is going to monitor it, how will usage be measured, how do we prevent fraud, racketeering, abuse, will we all need to be tagged...!?)

Under the proposal, prepared by the Centre for Sustainable Energy for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Britons would have to swipe their carbon card every time they bought petrol, paid an energy utility bill or booked an airline ticket.

Every one would be given an annual allowance they could utilise.

If more carbon was wanted, it would have to be bought from someone else hoping to have a credit surplus.

Milliband insisted that "bold thinking is required because the world is in a dangerous place" due to climate change caused by carbon emissions.

"It is a way of pricing carbon emissions into individual behavior and it would recognize carbon thrift, as well as economic thrift," he said in an interview with the Guardian newspaper Monday.

The scheme was expected to be discussed at a special cabinet committee meeting on the future role of the state, but the environment secretary insisted that the government needed to overcome the technical difficulties the proposals faced.

The report suggested that some of the problems that needed to be solved included the risk of fraud, the cost of the scheme and the relationship of the scheme with plans to introduce ID cards.

I am certainly not in the habit of knocking innovation and creativity but there are seriously much more readily available mechanisms that should warrant Mr Milliband's immediate attention - practical reality rather than quango nonsense and yet more taxpayers' money going into another round of consultation.

Never mind the carbon credit cards David - where's the decision regarding EEC3 targets that were promised during December 2006 please?!

Hope you dont mind me ranting folks but this is whole idea is plainly unworkable and I felt compelled to shout on behalf of an industry that is crying out for stability!

Make good choices people!

From Your Friend The Energy Angel