Cancun can-do is a con

Catallaxy Files (Australia)
"Developed countries are also avoiding new emission abatement measures. While their politicians enjoy the accolades of the green commentariat, cold reality usually dominates policy actions. Thus, Canada’s Kyoto commitment was to reduce emissions by six per cent below their 2000 levels by 2012, but with emissions tracking at 30 per cent above this,Canada simply abandoned the pledge. Last month, Japan became the latest country to drop its greenhouse reduction targets, which involved a 25 per cent reduction in emissions.
Europe, the epicentre of climate orthodoxy, is now re-examining its greenhouse gas abatement policies. These are aggravating the region’s economic demise. They are hurtling it towards Angela Merkel’s nightmare where Europe becomes merely “an interesting place to visit”.
Like Europe’s emission policies, those in Australia are also causing economic damage. We have a carbon tax, which at $23 more than doubles the wholesale electricity price and is fivefold the EU’s carbon tax. Australia shares with the EU crippling requirements for the use of wind generated electricity which costs over twice as much as electricity from coal. The costs these measures bring do not effect on emissions at the global level, but do cause relocation of industry and lower income levels."