Gee, who would have thought that people and companies would play games with a carbon credit program?
(NY Times) When the United Nations wanted to help slow climate change, it established what seemed a sensible system.
Yeah, much like the Oil for Food program, which, BTW, is still seeing people being fined for bribes
Greenhouse gases were rated based on their power to warm the atmosphere. The more dangerous the gas, the more that manufacturers in developing nations would be compensated as they reduced their emissions.
But where the United Nations envisioned environmental reform, some manufacturers of gases used in air-conditioning and refrigeration saw a lucrative business opportunity.
They quickly figured out that they could earn one carbon credit by eliminating one ton of carbon dioxide, but could earn more than 11,000 credits by simply destroying a ton of an obscure waste gas normally released in the manufacturing of a widely used coolant gas. That is because that byproduct has a huge global warming effect. The credits could be sold on international markets, earning tens of millions of dollars a year.
So, one of the solutions to stop globull warming created more greenhouse gases, and saw greater amounts of more potent greenhouse gases released in prodigious amounts. Yet, Warmists still tell us that the solution is carbon trading programs (but not having Warmists live the carbon neutral life).
Yeah, right. THe proponents of this boondoggle never saw the problem with gaming the system to make more money from corporations to help further line their pockets. Yeah, they never would have expected the windfall they found themselves in.
And the best part is that their solutions are worse than the symptoms.