A member of China’s People’s Congress and influential climate policy academic told Climate Home’s new Europe correspondent Arthur Neslen that the country may be considering a carbon tax.
This would represent a volte-face for the country, which has been drawing closer to implementing an EU-style carbon market for years. It would also upset the EU at a time when it is hoped the two will combine to provide leadership in the UN as the US’ influence shrinks.
“I think we would like to employ a different and effective measurement to promote low carbon development and also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” said Yi Wang. “Maybe the market is one method but I would also have another choice: a carbon tax.”
Not atoll what it seems
While Climate Home’s deputy editor Megan Darby was in the Maldives capital of Malé last week, a story broke of a development deal and potential sale of an entire atoll to the Saudi king – who will visit the country later this month.
The secretive deal between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia will have geopolitical implications, according to the country’s former president and foreign policy experts.
Ostensibly the project is based on attracting investment in high end tourism and developers. But the archipelago’s place along the oil supply routes from the Gulf to east Asia means there are strategic advantages, Climate Home was told.
The president of the Maldives has since denied that the deal involves the sale of the atoll.
Southern Gas Corridor dealt human rights blow
Development banks planning to offer billions of dollars in loans to build a $45bn pipeline to import gas to the EU from Azerbaijan will do so without the aegis of a key human rights watchdog.
The Azeri regime was thrown out of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) on Thursday after failing to comply with repeated requests to stop its repression of civil society.
Trump’s ban kills hope in Sudan
Eighteen-year-old Sudanese student Lina Yassin’s powerful critique of Donald Trump’s immigration ban is this week’s must read.
The ban will stop her and many others pursuing an education in the US that could help her combat climate change back at home. The loss of hope and the impacts of climate change are a surefire cocktail for radicalisation, she says.
“If Trump really wanted to fight terrorism he would have signed an order to limit climate change.”
Beyond the grave
The discovery of 5000-year-old burial mounds from the Funnelbeaker culture have dealt a blow to plans for a lignite mine in Poland. A rare find, the tombs could see energy company ZE PAK forced to change its plans for mines to open in the region.
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