Global warming sceptics in an unholy row
"The latest carbon credits scheme - published in a parliamentary committee report - is squarely on the side of the believers. The idea is that everyone gets an annual carbon ration to spend on fuel and energy bills and, if you want to overspend, you buy credits from low carbon emitters.
It's just like the medieval trade in indulgences, where remission for sins was granted by the Church once the sinner confessed and received absolution. By the late Middle Ages, the system had grown corrupt, with professional pardoners selling indulgences by the bucketload.
The medieval market in indulgences ended with the Reformation. You can imagine the outcome of this market in modern sin. Oceans of sackcloth-and-ashes piety from those who underspend their carbon credit, and badly informed abuse for people who like flying abroad on holiday."
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