Category: Environment

Household waste management, episode N

The US Ambassador has again intervened in public in the row over the Poolbeg incinerator. Covanta flew some journalists to Copenhagen and they report enthusiastically about incineration there.

Covanta is concerned about the proposed (but unspecified) levies on incineration, though. They seem to accept the levies proposed by Gorecki et al and endorsed by Forfas. These levies reflect the estimated externalities of incineration, but are lower than the estimates by Eunomia. Minister Gormley, however, has proposed that levies should be unrelated to the damage caused, but should rather be set at punitive levels for undesirable technologies.

The public consultation on this has now been closed for two weeks, but the submissions have yet to be uploaded.

Grandfathered permits

Cement companies are bound to make a lot of money from selling surplus CO2 emission permits; see Irish Times.

The atmosphere is the common property of humankind. The European Union appropriated part of that. Instead of using this to the advantage of all Europeans, it decided to give most of it to selected companies and some of it to the Member States. The government of Ireland decided to pass its share on to the same companies.

These decisions were made years ago and cannot be reversed. In fact, emission allocations have been decided until 2020. We’ve been had, again.

Paddy Morris on the economics of climate change

Over at Think or Swim, Paddy Morris accurately summarizes my work on the economics of climate change pre-Anthoff and pre-Weitzman. The comments are interesting too.

Economist on electric vehicles

The Economist has three pieces on electric cars (1, 2 in print and 3 online), calling it a big gamble for the car industry, questioning the sustainability of the generous subsidies for the well-to-do, and highlighting the limited reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Interestingly, Carlos Ghosn, one of the keenest supporters, appears to believe that 1 in 10 of new cars in 2020 will be all-electric. The goal for Ireland goes far beyond that: 1 in 10 cars (new and old) in 2020 should be all-electric.

Flood warnings

I’ve argued that flood warnings help to mitigate flood damage. I’ve also worried that nothing much has changed since last year. One thing did change, though: We’ve signed up to the European flood warning system (see Examiner). Progress! But why weren’t we last year?