Financial Times: Carbon trading could slash ‘green’ costs

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/852596d0-7543-11de-9ed5-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Carbon trading could slash ‘green’ costs

By Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent

Published: July 20 2009 22:25 | Last updated: July 20 2009 22:25

Carbon trading could slash the cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent, a report commissioned by the prime minister found on Monday. Money invested in emissions cuts through a carbon market produces a greater “bang per buck” than other methods, the Global Carbon Trading report found.

A dollar invested in a global emissions market can cut 40 to 50 per cent more carbon than one invested only in reductions within the UK, the report found. In part, this is because cutting emissions in developing countries is often cheaper than in rich nations.

Mark Lazarowicz, the Labour MP responsible for the report and the prime minister’s special representative on carbon trading, said: “The evidence shows that global carbon trading can deliver substantial cuts in greenhouse gases rapidly and cost-effectively.”

Many businesses would prefer to invest in cheaper carbon-cutting projects abroad – a practice known as carbon offsetting – rather than undertake difficult emissions reduction programmes at home. However, the government’s message is controversial, since it has resisted the use of offsets in meeting its emissions-cutting targets.

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