Emissions trading: a zero sum game? (article)
by Josh Fear
from Australia Institute, Online Opinion, 9 September 2009
"Some people, particularly firm believers in the Rudd Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, ascribe almost magical powers to emissions trading, believing it can transform the moral as well as the economic basis of our society. The assumption behind the government's policy is that an issue as complex as climate change issue can be addressed via one simple instrument. The CPRS relies on changes in price, to the exclusion of all other factors, to bring about changes in behaviour. While price is important, it is by no means the only determinant of behaviour. Just as critical is the intrinsic urge to act in one way rather than another due to habit, personality or even the desire to make a difference."