Even corporate executives are geared up for a green levy.
Lawson Hunter
When
the chief executive officers from some of Canada’s most influential
corporations encourage government intervention to tackle climate
change, you know change is in the air. And in this case, the change
involves a tax shift, a green tax shift, that is.
In
classic economic terms, a tax shift involves the linear movement of
taxes from one source to another, or from one payer or item to another.
The Goods and Services Tax illustrates how a tax is shifted in a
straight line from producer to manufacturer to consumer. Linear
economic models, however, run counter to the cyclical nature of
ecological systems, which replenish resources to counteract the loss of
the original resource.
The most significant challenge that confronts the world is the need to grow beyond oil. Indeed, at a time when crude oil is trading at or above $115 per barrel and when experts predict gas prices could be as high as $1.40 per litre by the summer, the need for viable alternatives to petroleum has never been more vital or more urgent.
We must address the unhealthy dependency we have developed on fossil fuels while replacing a substantial part of our energy mix with renewable biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. This will pay a variety of dividends: Biofuels are a cleaner, greener and more affordable source of energy that will strengthen economic prospects at home and in emerging economies alike.
That statement may come as something of a surprise given the headlines. In recent days and weeks, considerable attention has been dedicated to concerns about rising food prices. Warnings about food shortages in the developing world are coupled with concerns about more expensive groceries at home. Biofuels are often singled out as the reason.
But the fact is, demand for oil is outstripping the supply of oil. Record oil prices are what is inflating food prices worldwide, including those crops that have no relation to biofuels, such as fish and rice.
Indeed, many argue that the failure of the OPEC cartel to boost production is a strategy aimed at keeping prices high — a move that amounts to a $500-billion tax on North America this year alone, and which contributes directly to the impoverishment and economic fragility of many developing nations.
As we read about food shortages in the developing world, it is important to note that while Saudi Arabia reaps hundreds of billions in profit this year, Kenya will earn roughly $3 billion from exports. If the $1.3 trillion taxed from the world economy by OPEC countries in 2008 was instead re-distributed to those nations in need, it would lift the entire Third World out of poverty. Haiti for example, has a huge untapped biofuel source in its sugar cane crops.
The great benefit of biofuels — such as grain ethanol, cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel — is that they can help fill the supply gap and create needed competition with OPEC. Indeed biofuels offer the only available, accessible and affordable alternative to fossil fuels.
In contrast to much of the recent discussion, let us review the facts on biofuels and sustainability.
In
recognition of the fact there are many excellent climate change
projects not yet certified to standards such as the Voluntary Carbon
Standard or ISO 14064-2, the GLOBE Carbon Registry provides a facility
to display the custom standard to which an offset has been validated
and verified. By clearly exhibiting all requirements for
a project standard, customers in the marketplace are enabled to make
informed decisions in selecting the offsets and the projects they wish
to support.
The GLOBE Carbon Registry will ensure market integrity by issuing a
unique serial number to each posted offset, avoiding double counting
and allowing chain of custody control from creation to retirement.
A Driving Force to Address Climate Change
The voluntary carbon market presents a powerful mechanism for
addressing climate change. Through stimulating innovation and
encouraging action throughout many parts of the economy, GHGs can be
excluded from the atmosphere while setting the technological, financial
and educational pre-conditions for avoiding dangerous human-made
climate change. In creating a mechanism for displaying quality offset
projects of all types, third-party validated and verified to a
transparent standard, and tracking these offsets through the chain of
custody, the GLOBE Carbon Registry will build trust in carbon
offsetting and allow full realization of the potential of the voluntary
carbon market.
Big banks lend credibility and validity to environmentally responsible investment funds Anne Howland, CanWest News Service Published: Saturday, November 24, 2007 … Continue reading Green investment funds on increase
Jaded eye urged at green claims on consumer goods Kathryn Young, Financial Post Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 Greenwashing— making … Continue reading Wary eye urged on green claims
