Who is paying to de-carbonise the global economy?

Steam and other emissions from funnels at a chemical manufacturing facility in Melbourne June 24, 2009. (Photo: Reuters)

Author: Eric Knight, Oxford

Financing the transformation of the global economy may yet prove to be a key lever in brokering agreement between developed and developing countries on emission caps and targets in the current international climate negotiations. China, India, and a number of other Asian countries in the G77 are increasingly focusing on multilateral finance for technology transfer and development as a cornerstone to any agreement.

In a report released at the Bonn negotiations in June this year, the Expert Group on Technology Transfer (EGTT) reported that current estimated global expenditure on commercialising mitigation technologies is between US$77-164 billion annually. Read more…

Carbon emission targets and investment in clean technologies

Author: Eric Knight

As all the talk about carbon emission reduction targets under a trading scheme comes to a head with the release of the Government’s White Paper on the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, it is time to connect the dots and clarify what the climate change debate is really about: investment in carbon-reducing technology.

The driving purpose of any carbon trading scheme is to increase investment in, and the deployment of, technologies which will allow Australia to continue strong economic growth accompanied by a low carbon emissions trajectory. To the extent that the current carbon emissions trading framework distracts us from this end goal, we should be careful not to get carried away by all the political tactics and game playing.

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