The Daily Telegraph Reports that a Norwegian wind company was paid £1.2 million to not produce electricity during a period of high winds. This was a hair shy of 10 times the artificially above market rate wind farms receive to make power. British ratepayers will fit the bill.
UK green energy researchers seek exemption from green energy taxes The Guardian reports that "world-class research into future sources of green energy is under threat in Britain from an environmental tax designed to boost energy efficiency and drive down carbon emissions." Researchers at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy complained to The Guardian that, "considering our research is aimed at producing zero-carbon energy, it seems ironic and perverse to clobber us with an extra bill... We have to use electricity to run the machine and there is no way of getting around that." We sympathize. The power of taxation and control [...]
The United States must learn from Europe’s mistakes – not repeat them ROGER HELMER, MEP Senator Harry Reid has repeatedly denounced opposition to carbon trading as “dangerous.” Senator Reid is wrong. It is the House and Senate climate and renewable energy bills that are dangerous. Fortunately, the recent elections and the ongoing dissension at the Cancun climate summit could bode ill for carbon trading, any successor to Kyoto – and renewable energy standards. Carbon trading is wrong on so many levels. First, there is a growing realization that the small changes we are seeing in Earth’s climate are entirely consistent with [...]
Oxford Union Chooses Economic Growth Over Climate Change Debate Win for CFACT Advisor Lord Christopher Monckton Last week the Oxford Union, one of the world’s premier debate societies, chose economic growth over climate change by a vote of 133-110. The vote by students at an elite U.K. university illustrates the continued shift of public support away from the global warming scare. The proponents of global warming policy always seem to lose whenever they encounter a fair forum where both sides receive equal time. Key warmists such as Nobel Laureate Al Gore and the IPCC’s Rajendra Pachauri avoid debate at all costs. [...]
Italian Wind Fraud Investigation Extends to the Netherlands, UK, Ireland, and Spain. Subsidies Questioned. For some carbon millionaires, lining their pockets legally through taxpayer subsidies and hand outs is not enough. They choose to cheat even though they’re playing a game that’s already rigged. […]
The Daily Telegraph reports that Al Gore is poised to become the world's first carbon billionaire. Have consumers lined up to buy the former Vice-President's products and services? It appears, rather, that most of Mr. Gore's new wealth will flow to him from government grants and subsidies. Do we really want to tax working people to transfer wealth to a new class of climate oligarchs?
The Skeptical Environmentalist's Priorities for the World
The reality behind American Cap and Trade PAUL DRIESSEN (Washington) What is Cap and Trade? To address concerns that global warming threatens our planet, activists and politicians are pushing for a “cap-and-trade” program that would limit and tax carbon dioxide released by power plants, cars, factories and other facilities. It is a very complicated regulatory scheme that penalizes businesses and people who use energy or electricity generated from oil, gasoline, natural gas and coal (fossil fuels). […]
SIMON ESPERSEN (COPENHAGEN) In recent years, a number of pro-free-market think tanks and taxpayer associations have been formed in France, and their effectiveness and impact clearly are increasing. These groups include Institut Economique Molinari, the Institute for Economic Studies-Europe, Institut de Formation Politique, Contribuables Associes (French Taxpayers Association), etc. In part because of their efforts, France has sharply reduced its corporate income-tax rate so it is lower than the U.S. rate. […]
What better to celebrate than individual freedom? For the third year in a row CFACT Europe joined conservative and libertarian leaders to raise a glass to liberty at CNE’s Capitalist Ball on 12th October at the usual venue, the Concert Noble, in Brussels. […]
LYMEC calls on Europe to rise to the challenge of globalization Around 150 representatives of various European liberal youth organizations gathered in Berlin this past weekend at the annual congress of LYMEC, their European umbrella organization. Top speakers included EU-Commissioners Verheugen (Enterprise and Industry) and Potocnik (science and research). […]
Dr. HOLGER THUSS (Wien) “Taxpayer and Environment Issues are Intertwined,” Dr. Thuss says. CFACT EUROPE’s Executive Director participated in the Third European Resource Bank Meeting, held in cooperation with the Annual Meeting of the World Taxpayer Associations from June 29 – July 2 in Vienna, Austria. The meetings bring together taxpayer and free market activists from around the globe to share ideas and strategy. “The interests of taxpayers and free market environmentalists throughout the world are interwoven. Wrong tax policies and counterproductive environmental measures often go hand in hand,” Dr. Thuss said. “Sharing our experiences of resisting red tape and high [...]