In a move sure to set off a tirade from Joe Romm, we have this story from the BBC:
French government backs down on carbon tax plan
The French government has signalled that it is dropping a plan for a tax on domestic carbon dioxide emissions.
Jean-Francois Cope, parliamentary leader of the governing UMP party, was quoted as saying the tax “would be Europe-wide or not (exist) at all”.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon told parliament that the government should focus on policies that increased France’s economic competitiveness.
France had been rethinking the tax after a court rejected it last year.
The Constitutional Council said there were too many exemptions for polluters in the tax plan, and that a minority of consumers would bear the burden.
But President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government had still been planning to push through a revised version of the measure later this year.
more at the BBC here
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From the French presidency itself :
http://www.elysee.fr/documents/index.php?lang=fr&mode=view&cat_id=1&press_id=3476
“Le dumping environnemental menace nos emplois. Il serait absurde de taxer les entreprises françaises en donnant un avantage compétitif aux entreprises des pays pollueurs. Je confirme sans ambiguïté notre choix d’une fiscalité écologique mais je subordonne la création d’une taxe carbone intérieure à une taxe aux frontières qui protègera notre agriculture et nos industries contre la concurrence déloyale de ceux qui continuent à polluer sans vergogne. Je lance d’ailleurs un appel à une prise de responsabilité générale pour que l’Europe admette le principe de la protection de ses entreprises et de ses emplois contre les concurrences déloyales.”
Shortly, it means that Environmental dumping is not acceptable et it would be a nonsense to tax french compagnies when others are not. A carbon tax in the internal market can be put in place only if a carbon tax is put at the same time for imports (at EU level). He ask to EU to protect the european compagnies and jobs against unfair competition.
Mainly french people are against the tax carbon (it will increase the total amount of taxes on gas). The Constitution Court revokes the first carbon tax and since, it was impossible to find a solution.
I haven’t a car, but I’m very happy.
I think letting the market work right now is the best plan: http://bit.ly/cQJnFl
Vincent (03:42:49) :
Phlogiston,
” “If Labour had courage and intelligence they would sieze the opportunity thus presented, adopt a reserved position on climate change, promote an open scientific debate etc.”
How can they after Gordon Brown has nailed his colours to the AGW mast, taken upon himself to pontificate to the world to cut their carbon emissions and decried critics as “flat earthers”? He would look a complete idiot. ”
Ancient (Koine) Greek had four words for “if”; they meant (approximately):
if (and it is)
if (and it isnt)
if (it might be, it might not be)
if (I wish it was but sadly it is not)
My “if” in the above posting is of the 4th type.
Vincent (04:00:05)
“This sharp fall in steric component is consistent with a slowing down in ocean warming.”
I share the opinion of Stephen Wilde among others on this site that the ocean is the principle player in driving climate patterns, in interaction with solar variations and possibly solar system gravitational effects. The atmosphere by contrast plays a passive role, caught in between and holding a tiny insignificant fraction of climate heat. This probably involves long term ocean circulation dynamics involving all ocean depths that are poorly understood. There is some circumstantial evidence that the rate of sea level rise might be predictive of global temperature changes:
http://climatesanity.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/sea-level-rise-rate-leads-global-temperature/
For instance rate of level rise could indicate rate of heat input into the upper ocean. (Not only from above but from below also.) All this together with the published evidence you refer to, could hypothetically predict sustained climate cooling for a number of years.
The ill-conceived carbon credits market & linked-fee gas tax in the Global Warming bill being drafted in the U.S. Senate: http://bit.ly/ccNpzp