World’s Leading Scientist Fighting Against Global Warming is Opposed to Cap And Trade

Washington’s Blog
Friday, Dec 4th, 2009

James Hansen is the world’s leading climate scientist fighting against global warming.

Yesterday, Dr. Hansen told the Guardian:

He is vehemently opposed to the carbon market schemes – in which permits to pollute are bought and sold – which are seen by the EU and other governments as the most efficient way to cut emissions and move to a new clean energy economy.

Therefore, Hansen says:

It would be better for the planet and for future generations if next week’s Copenhagen climate change summit ended in collapse.

I have repeatedly pointed out that cap and trade won’t work. Indeed:

• The economists who invented cap-and-trade say that it won’t work for global warming

• Many environmentalists say that carbon trading won’t effectively reduce carbon emissions

• European criminal investigators have determined that there is a tremendous amount of fraud occurring in the carbon trading market.

• Our bailout buddies over at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and the other Wall Street behemoths are buying heavily into carbon trading (see this, this, this, this, this and this). As University of Maryland professor economics professor and former Chief Economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission Peter Morici writes:
  

  Obama must ensure that the banks use the trillions of dollars in federal bailout assistance to renegotiate mortgages and make new loans to worthy homebuyers and businesses. Obama must make certain that banks do not continue to squander federal largess by padding executive bonuses, acquiring other banks and pursuing new high-return, high-risk lines of businesses in merger activity, carbon trading and complex derivatives. Industry leaders like Citigroup have announced plans to move in those directions. Many of these bankers enjoyed influence in and contributed generously to the Obama campaign. Now it remains to be seen if a President Obama can stand up to these same bankers and persuade or compel them to act responsibly.

  In other words, the same companies that made billions off of derivatives and other scams and are now getting bailed out on your dime are going to make billions from carbon trading.

And it won’t work.

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