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Articles in category: Carbon Tax
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The Global Carbon Market is Taking Shape - Triple Pundit
Read Full ArticleAustralia aims to transition from the carbon tax to a cap and trade system in 2015. As part of the new cap and trade system, the country plans to link with the EU ETS starting in 2015. The Australian legislature approved the linkage in December 2012 and a
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Europe’s Carbon Market Crisis: Why Does it Matter?
Read Full ArticleIn a blow for global efforts to mitigate climate change, the European Union’s eight-year-old carbon market is collapsing. Is this the death knell for cap and trade, or a useful lesson?
Mentions: Europe -
The Wall Street Journal Is Wrong Here: Low Carbon Permit Prices Are Just Great
Read Full ArticleThe Wall Street Journal tells us that the entire edifice of Europe's attempt at controlling carbon emissions has come tumbling down. They say this because the price of permits on the trading exchange has tumbled. But they seem to be unaware that low prices are just great, this is what we actually desire: One of the great policy bubbles of our times has been cap and trade for carbon emissions ...
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Why can't we give up fossil fuels?
Read Full ArticleDespite all the mounting scientific concern, the political rhetoric and the clean technology of the past decade, the growth rate in global carbon emissions has not reduced at all. Why? Because we continue to extract and burn fossil fuels more than ever before We have far more oil, coal and gas than we can safely burn. For all the millions of words written about climate change, the challenge ...
Mentions: Europe -
Green Column: Europe Faces a Crisis in Energy Costs
Read Full ArticleEurope relies heavily on imported coal and natural gas, while green power sources require subsidies that are passed on to industry and consumers.
Mentions: Europe -
The Experts: Should There Be a Price on Carbon Emissions?
Read Full ArticleYes, there should be a price on carbon emissions. Directly pricing carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) provides a far better “bang for the buck” in mitigating climate change than many of the policies that have actually been put in place (such as feed-in tariffs or tax credits for wind and solar or fleet-averaged fuel efficiency standards for automobiles). Unfortunately, policies that dole out money and hide costs are often more politically palatable than policies that make costs explicit.
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Europe’s Data Centres Hit By US Shale Gas Prices
Read Full ArticleData centres could move from Europe to the US, thanks to low cost energy from shale gas, according to research from 451 Research. Cheaper energy could also dampen interest in efficiency measures for large cloud data centres, the report warns. The US will have cheap electricity and prices will be stable for some time, thanks to the large-scale exploitation of shale gas. This means that data centres, which can use several megawatts of electric power, will be cheaper to run in America.
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Obama starts unveiling his plans for climate change, clean energy
Read Full ArticlePresident Obama starts to show his hand for how he'll keep support going for clean energy and greener vehicles, and also fight climate change, at a time when Congress won't likely approval major budget increases or aggressive policies.
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Bill Gates Still Believes In A Carbon Tax
Read Full ArticleBill Gates didn’t say if we get a carbon tax, he said when we get a carbon tax: “When we get a carbon tax we should put some of that into innovation,” Gates told energy executives gathered at Houston’s IHS CERAWeek conference Thursday evening.
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Cheap energy and green credentials lure business to Iceland datacentres
Read Full ArticleAs growing numbers of European businesses look to reduce their carbon footprint, many are turning to Iceland to build datacentres and make use of cheaper energy and natural cooling resources to improve their green credentials. “A fifth of datacentre costs are spent on power and half of that is used for cooling. But in Iceland, businesses can use free-air cooling all year round and save on cooling costs,” said Einar Hansen Tomasson, project manager at Invest in Iceland, the government body that aims to attract foreign direct investment to Iceland.
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Why Are We So Interested in Energy Efficiency?
Read Full ArticleTake your pick of studies and publications listing priorities for data center operators in 2013 and beyond—energy will almost certainly be in there somewhere. It has become a perennial issue for companies, and given the various economic and political factors surrounding it, this situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. So, why is energy such a mantra in the industry and in the technology press?
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Why taxing pollution deserves serious discussion
Read Full ArticlePrime Minister Stephen Harper and his party have recently attempted to demonize Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair for his alleged advocacy of a “job-killing carbon tax.” As has been widely noted, Mr. Mulcair and the NDP have, in fact, only called for a cap and trade system based on the broader principle of “polluter pay,” which would require major carbon polluters to purchase emission permits from the government or on a carbon market
Mentions: Netherlands -
Where is green IT heading in 2013?
Read Full ArticleAnalysts predict an uptake in trigeneration technology and data centre infrastructure management tools, and that there will be more consolidation of IT infrastructure, more sophisticated monitoring and reporting of energy use, and driving down energy costs will become a top priority for CIOs next year.
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The Top Five Energy Stories of 2012
Read Full ArticleI recently asked a number of friends in the energy industry to make me look smart and recommend the top 5 energy stories for 2012. There were many ideas mooted, but one strong consensus: It will take a lot more than 5 ideas to make me look smart.
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Why Is DC Talking About a Carbon Tax Again?
Washington insiders at both ends of the political spectrum have begun talking about a carbon tax. The document "A Progressive Carbon Tax Will Fight Climate Change and Stimulate the Economy" by Richard Caperton of the Democrat-aligned Center for American Progress (CAP) is a little surprising because the assumption since 2009 has been that some version of a market-based cap-and-trade program was the only politically viable way to put a price on carbon emissions. Advocacy for a carbon tax by academRead Full ArticleMentions: Brookings Institution -
California Tackles Climate Change, But Will Others Follow?
Read Full ArticleCan California save the planet? The state that has instigated every key U.S. effort to curb fossil-fuel emissions since the 1960s now will tackle the greatest challenge of all—reining in greenhouse gases—with a cap-and-trade system launched this week. In a closed three-hour auction conducted online Wednesday, California's energy companies and large manufacturers placed their bids for 62 million permits that essentially give them the right to pollute. Using these chits and a healthy number of fre
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Renewables Growing Fastest But Can't Compete Without Help: BP
Read Full ArticleRenewable forms of energy are growing far faster than any other form of energy, a BP economist said in Chicago last week, but are unlikely to significantly impact the world’s reliance on fossil fuels without continued government interventions, such as a price on carbon. The world’s oil consumption grew by less than 1 percent in 2011, natural gas by 2 percent, coal by about 5 percent, and nuclear reactors contributed 4 percent less energy in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, according to Mark Finley, BP’s general manager for global energy markets.
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Why Data Centre Emissions Need To Be Counted Separately
Read Full ArticleThe government’s promise to be the “greenest government ever” is in tatters, but those tatters still include a green energy tax, the CRC - which is on life support but still exists. CRC, in its final form, amounts to an extra charge on energy use by organisations above a certain size. The idea is to encourage businesses to operate more efficiently and cut their energy use – thereby cutting the country’s emissions. But data centres are fighting the idea, saying it will make them less competitive than other countries.
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Green Blog: A Bipartisan Vote Against European Air Fines
Read Full ArticleJust before dashing out of town, Senate Republicans and Democrats voted to defy European emission fees imposed on American carriers.
Mentions: Europe -
Paying Attention To Data Center Property
Read Full ArticleMore and more companies are occupying space in data centers. This leads to the requirement for IT decision makers to look at issues like power, data sovereignty and security issues. Such considerations need to be examined very carefully before the company decides to take up residence in the data center. Physical security needs to be analyzed carefully. This security becomes even more important when one is talking about defense organizations using the data center space. The provider’s environment
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Avoiding the data centre property trap
Read Full ArticleSo you’ve found a great data centre run by a provider who seems to tick all the boxes. But before signing on the dotted line and taking space, there are several property and legal traps which need to be examined first. Not only do IT executives need to consider physical security and environmental credentials but even legislation such as the Privacy Act 1988 and the Patriot Act can come into play, say legal experts. Truman Hoyle partner, Nick Finlayson, says IT executives should investigate the physical security of the facility while negotitating a data centre lease. This is because they may not want competitors in the same building or other neighbours – such as political or defence organisations – who might introduce levels of risk for the data centre operation.
Mentions: Amazon.com -
Are You Saving Energy? Taxes and Regulations May Be on the Horizon
Read Full ArticleEstimates of the number of pages in the U.S. Code and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations differ, with some reaching into the hundreds of thousands of pages. With that much verbiage, you are guaranteed that whatever you’re doing now, it’s probably covered in some regard (and you’re likely breaking some rule or regulation right now). The Internet and, to some extent, data centers have managed to avoid some regulations thus far, but those days may be numbered. In particular, energy efficiency is
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Green Blog: Obama and Romney Guardedly Address Climate Change
Read Full ArticleResponding to questions about science, Mitt Romney says he believes the world is getting warmer and "humans play a role in that warming."
Mentions: Barack Obama
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