Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h/t Dr. Willie Soon; Cuba’s dictatorship has developed a sudden interest in converting the poverty the Cuban people into hard currency carbon credit payments.

Despite socialist scepticism, Cuba shows interest in carbon trading 

Published on 30/09/2020, 12:24pm

In its national climate plan, Cuba indicated it would like to sell carbon credits on an international market, a concept previously opposed by socialist allies

By Joe Lo

Cuba has suggested it wants to get paid to reduce emissions, if a controversial global carbon credit scheme is set up.

In an updated climate plan submitted to the UN this month, Cuba says it “intends to use cooperative approaches that involve the use of mitigation results of international transfer” under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

An international carbon market to put Article 6 into practice is still under negotiation. It would allow countries to sell any over-achievement of their emissions reductions targets, for other countries or corporations to count towards their carbon-cutting commitments.

This concept has long been controversial, particularly with left-wing governments allied to Cuba like Venezuela and Bolivia. They prefer “non-market measures”.

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Read more: https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/09/30/despite-socialist-scepticism-cuba-shows-interest-carbon-trading/

In my opinion Cuba’s sudden interest in carbon credits is likely an ominous development for ordinary Cubans.

Being a dictatorship, all Cuba has to do to qualify for substantial payments from the European Union and other carbon markets is accurately measure the misery of the Cuban people, then take away some of their stuff.

For example, a substantial portion of Cuba’s automobile fleet are decrepit, ancient US automobiles left over from the relative prosperity of the Batista regime. If Cuba were to say arbitrarily ban automobiles older than 15 years, on the grounds they emit too much CO2, instant carbon credit. Nobody the regime cares about would suffer, and its not like ordinary Cubans would be allowed to object. The regime might even make a few extra bucks selling the ancient wrecks to collectors.

Let us hope the idea of carbon credit payments doesn’t catch on with even worse regimes.

Eric Worrall / 1 hour ago October 3, 2020

Watts Up With That?

Cuba Shows a Sudden Interest in Carbon Trading