How much extra will putting a price on carbon add to the household power bill?
Sean Casten has done some calculations for US electricity prices. The result? $13.60/MWh, or 1.4 cents/kWh. Given that the average price for electricity in the USA is 9.75 cents/kWh, this amounts to a 14% rate increase. (The US prices carbon at $20/ton.)
However, as he points out, electricity prices vary between states; this increase amounts to the difference between Maine (13.9 cents/kWh) and Massachusetts (15.3). On this basis, saying that Australia would be disadvantaged by setting a carbon price is like saying that Massachusetts would lose its industry to Maine because of this price differential. (As a recent post to this blog pointed out too, changeover costs tend to be overestimated because they don’t take implementation efficiencies into account).
Prince Charles is a Greenie!
There may not be a huge number of royalists in the Australian environmental movement (although as an issue, the environment cuts across party lines). But when establishment figures like Prince Charles urge action on climate change, I think two things happen. First, and obviously, it gets the issue into the media, at least in Britain. Second, Charles has a history of using his profile for commenting on social issues. His comments normalise the issue; it’s more difficult now to portray concern about climate change as alarmist or the preserve of a radical minority.
Excerpt from this BBC story: ‘Hesitation over tackling climate change could be catastrophic, Prince Charles has told global warming experts. Speaking at St James’ Palace, in London, the prince said: “It seems to me that in many ways we already have some of the answers to hand. “We know about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and how to reduce deforestation… but we seem strangely reluctant to apply them,” he went on.’ Read the full story.
Cap & Trade: carbon tax or wealth transfer?
Excerpt from this article by Sean Casten:
“It’s an article of faith that cap-and-trade will raise our energy costs, but it’s not necessarily true.
The ubiquity of this faith makes clear that the Smart People who write, talk, and vote about CO2 policy don’t really understand the issues. A quick discussion, and then some math to clarify.
There are two core problems with the theory that carbon pricing schemes will raise energy costs:
- We habitually confuse sector-specific wealth transfers with economy-wide pain; the two are not necessarily the same.
- Rather than admit our failure to imagine how the world would adapt to carbon pricing, we tend to assume stasis, thereby overstating the costs of compliance. “
Tim Flannery makes a similar observation in The weather makers. The rest of this article discusses both these points is well worth reading.
What to expect in Copenhagen
We all know world leaders and their delegates will be grinding out a new global climate agreement this December in Copenhagen. But have you ever wondered what document they will be arguing over? This post from the Dot Earth blog includes some excerpts from the United Nations negotiating text for the 192 countries to meet in Copenhagen. There is also some commentary about the likely “pinch points” in the agreement.
Green David vs Brown Goliath
Of course environmental groups can’t outspend the energy bloc when it comes to lobbying government. However we can work smarter and arm ourselves with some effective arrows. A recent post by Billy Parish looked comes up with four strategies for the smaller dog in the fight:
- Make it a battle of wills, not a battle of skills
- Empower people to think and act in real time
- Attack where they are weak
- Defy social convention (and be ready to do what is socially horrifying)
The full article from the Grist web site is definitely food for thought.
“Biggest health threat of the twenty-first century”
“Climate change is ‘the biggest global health threat of the 21st Century’, according to a leading medical journal. The Lancet, together with University College London researchers, has published a report outlining how public health services will need to adapt. It also highlights the consequences of climate-related mass migrations. The authors aim to add their voice to the call for carbon mitigation and will focus on making clear the ways in which climate change will affect health.”
Read the full article from the BBC.
Coral triangle a global emergency
“Australian scientists are warning of the possibility of a future wave of economic refugees from south-east Asia and the Pacific if one of the world’s most important marine ecosystems is devastated by climate change.” Rest of this story from the ABC.
A story to remember the next time someone says they think climate change isn’t such a big deal for Australia. This story should inform them that acting against climate change isn’t just good for the planet, it’s in our interests too.
Safe climate means no to coal
About three-quarters of the world’s fossil fuel reserves must be left unused if society is to avoid dangerous climate change, scientists warn.
More than 100 nations support the goal of keeping temperature rise below 2C.
But the scientists say that without major curbs on fossil fuel use, 2C will probably be reached by 2050.
Writing in Nature, they say politicians should focus on limiting humanity’s total output of CO2 rather than setting a “safe” level for annual emissions.
Read the rest of this article via the BBC report.
Hope Kevin Rudd is reading this and has a re-think about “clean coal”.