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admin Site Admin
Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 66
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Posted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:40 am Post subject: About Tradeable Energy Quotas |
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This subforum is for the specific discussion of all aspects of Tradeable Energy Quotas.
TEQs in Brief
1. ?Tradable Energy Quotas? (TEQs) is a system to enable nations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases along with their use of oil, gas and coal, and to ensure fair access to energy for all.
2. There are two reasons why energy-rationing may be needed:
1. Climate change: to reduce the greenhouse gases released into the air when oil, gas and coal are used.
2. Energy supply: to maintain a fair distribution of oil, gas and electric power during shortages.
3. TEQs (pronounced ?tex?) are measured in units.
4. Every adult is given an equal free Entitlement of TEQs units. Industry and Government bid for their units at a weekly Tender.
5. At the start of the scheme, a full year's supply of units is placed on the market. Then, every week, the number of units in the market is topped up with a week's supply.
6. If you use less than your Entitlement of units, you can sell your surplus. If you need more, you can buy them.
7. All fuels (and electricity) carry a ?rating? in units; one unit represents one kilogram of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases, released when the fuel is used.
8. When you buy energy, such as petrol for your car or electricity for your household, units corresponding to the amount of energy you have bought are deducted from your TEQs account, in addition to your money payment. TEQs transactions are automatic, using credit-card or (more usually) direct-debit technology.
9. The number of units available on the market is set out in the TEQs Budget, which looks 20 years ahead. The size of the Budget goes down year-by-year ? step-by-step, like a staircase.
10. The Budget is set by the Energy Policy Committee, which is independent of the Government.
11. The Government is itself bound by the scheme; its role is to find ways of living within it, and to help the rest of us to do so.
12. TEQs are a national scheme, enabling nations to keep their promises on the reduction of carbon emissions, within whatever international framework applies at the time.
To find out more download the free 49 page booklet, Energy and the Common Purpose; now on its updated and improved 2nd edition. If you would prefer a printed copy please click on Buy the Booklet.
Original Source : http://www.teqs.net/summary.htm |
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clv101 Site Admin

Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 7731
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Adam1

Joined: 01 Sep 2006 Posts: 2707
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 116 Location: London
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 8:25 pm Post subject: TEQs summary |
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An updated and clarified ten-point summary of TEQs was prepared for the launch of the 2011 All Party Parliamentary report (http://teqs.net/report/summary/):
1. TEQs (Tradable Energy Quotas) is an electronic energy rationing system designed to be implemented at the national scale.
2. There are two reasons why such a scheme may be needed:
Climate change: to guarantee achieving national carbon reduction targets.
Energy supply: to maintain a fair distribution of fuel and electricity during shortages.
3. TEQs (pronounced tex) are measured in units.
4. Every adult is given an equal free Entitlement of TEQs units each week. Other energy users (Government, industry etc.) bid for their units at a weekly Tender, or auction.
5. If you use less than your Entitlement of units, you can sell your surplus. If you need more, you can buy them. All trading takes place at a single national price, which will rise and fall in line with demand. Buying and selling would be as easy as topping up an Oyster card or mobile phone.
6. All fuels (and electricity) carry a carbon rating in units; one unit represents one kilogram of carbon dioxide or the equivalent in other greenhouse gases released in the fuels production and use.
7. When you buy energy, such as petrol for your car or electricity for your household, units corresponding to the amount of energy you have bought are deducted from your TEQs account, in addition to your money payment. TEQs transactions are generally automatic, using credit-card or (more usually) direct-debit technology.
8. The total number of units available in the country is set out in the TEQs Budget. The size of the Budget goes down year-by-year step-by-step, like a staircase.
9. The Budget is set by the Committee on Climate Change, which is independent of the Government. The Government is itself bound by the TEQs scheme; its role is to support the country in thriving on the available carbon/energy.
10. Since the national TEQs price is determined by national demand, it is transparently in everyones interest to help each other to reduce their energy demand, and to work together, encouraging a national sense of common purpose.
Perhaps the forum admins could move this to the top of this "sticky" topic? |
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emordnilap

Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 14026 Location: Houǝsʇlʎ' ᴉʇ,s ɹǝɐllʎ uoʇ ʍoɹʇɥ ʇɥǝ ǝɟɟoɹʇ' pou,ʇ ǝʌǝu qoʇɥǝɹ˙
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:23 am Post subject: |
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Shaun
What's your thoughts on the current development of the Cap&Share system, which seems to be preferred in Ireland? _________________ "Buddhists say we come back as animals and they refer to them as lesser beings. Well, animals aren’t lesser beings, they’re just like us. So I say fụck the Buddhists" - Bjork |
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stumuzz
Joined: 17 Nov 2009 Posts: 899 Location: Anglesey, North Wales
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:27 pm Post subject: |
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TEQ'S= Tax on production=more expensive basic commodities= even poorer poor people=dodging the real moral question of land tax and private property rights=fudging the issue=means it will never happen.
Fits, green deal,wrap,cca,iso14001,crc,fe,eia,eim etc are all pragmatic schemes working today to achieve the aims of lowering carbon emissions and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
However, these schemes are all voluntary. They are not orders backed by threats like the Teq's |
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JohnB

Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 6457 Location: Beautiful sunny West Wales!
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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The Daily Express and its readers don't seem very impressed.
Quote: | MOTORISTS face the "alarming" prospect of petrol rationing as the latest weapon in the war against drivers, it emerged yesterday.
The proposal has been made by an influential group of MPs which claims there is an urgent need for fuel-use to be slashed to meet green targets.
The scandal came as experts warned fuel could hit 8 a gallon due to increased taxes and rising crude oil prices. Under the move, all adults would be given a set number of free energy tokens which would be offset against any fuel burnt in a vehicle or at home. |
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/224900/Driver-fury-at-petrol-ration-plan
Found thanks to Shaun putting this on Facebook! _________________ John
Eco-Hamlets UK - Small sustainable neighbourhoods |
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clv101 Site Admin

Joined: 24 Nov 2005 Posts: 7731
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 116 Location: London
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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emordnilap wrote: | Shaun
What's your thoughts on the current development of the Cap&Share system, which seems to be preferred in Ireland? |
Well, Cap & Share developed from TEQs of course. Richard Douthwaite was a big advocate of TEQs, but then, as I understand it, thought that perhaps it could be improved and devised C&S, in conjunction with others at FEASTA.
If I'm honest, my personal opinion is that C&S falls between two stools. On the one hand you have TEQs, which attempts to engage the populace in the energy descent (a la Transition Towns etc), and on the other you have Cap & Dividend, which attempts to do it all upstream (thus saving on the costs involved in TEQs accounts for all). I can see both sides of that particular argument, although I do definitely come down on the side of TEQs. I wrote a piece on the debate a couple of years back:
http://www.darkoptimism.org/2008/06/08/teqs-downstream-vs-cap-and-dividend-upstream/
Cap & Share seems like the worst of both worlds - it is more expensive to implement than Cap & Dividend, but the only engagement I can see that it would generate would be taking your vouchers down to the Post Office to sell them. |
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 116 Location: London
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:06 pm Post subject: |
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JohnB wrote: | The Daily Express and its readers don't seem very impressed.
Found thanks to Shaun putting this on Facebook! |
Happy to help! I was pleasantly surprised by the piece in the Daily Mail, but the Express was much more what I expected.
The general coverage has been fantastic though, and massively more widespread than I had expected:
http://teqs.net/report/media-coverage-and-launch-event/
The Sunday Times and Time magazine pieces are my favourites to date from the mainstream media, and only The Express has been hostile (although the Daily Mail's readers don't appear to be fans either!). Heard John Hemming discussing the scheme on Radio 2 Drivetime earlier, and my piece has just gone up on The Oil Drum.
Might have time to catch breath soon! |
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emordnilap

Joined: 05 Sep 2007 Posts: 14026 Location: Houǝsʇlʎ' ᴉʇ,s ɹǝɐllʎ uoʇ ʍoɹʇɥ ʇɥǝ ǝɟɟoɹʇ' pou,ʇ ǝʌǝu qoʇɥǝɹ˙
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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Shaun Chamberlin wrote: | emordnilap wrote: | Shaun
What's your thoughts on the current development of the Cap&Share system, which seems to be preferred in Ireland? |
Well, Cap & Share developed from TEQs of course. Richard Douthwaite was a big advocate of TEQs, but then, as I understand it, thought that perhaps it could be improved and devised C&S, in conjunction with others at FEASTA.
If I'm honest, my personal opinion is that C&S falls between two stools. On the one hand you have TEQs, which attempts to engage the populace in the energy descent (a la Transition Towns etc), and on the other you have Cap & Dividend, which attempts to do it all upstream (thus saving on the costs involved in TEQs accounts for all). I can see both sides of that particular argument, although I do definitely come down on the side of TEQs. I wrote a piece on the debate a couple of years back:
http://www.darkoptimism.org/2008/06/08/teqs-downstream-vs-cap-and-dividend-upstream/
Cap & Share seems like the worst of both worlds - it is more expensive to implement than Cap & Dividend, but the only engagement I can see that it would generate would be taking your vouchers down to the Post Office to sell them. |
Thanks for that.
I like the in-built system for dealing with direct and indirect emissions that is the simplicity of C&S but I take your points. Both systems (I'm not a fan of C&D) are very similar.
Overall - and I've said this before - I don't think it matters that much about the finer detail, especially at present. As an individual, I would be happy to see almost any system in place which actually tackles the problem in an equitable way, rather than the mess of piecemeal and disjointed approaches either currently being attempted or proposed. _________________ "Buddhists say we come back as animals and they refer to them as lesser beings. Well, animals aren’t lesser beings, they’re just like us. So I say fụck the Buddhists" - Bjork |
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Shaun Chamberlin
Joined: 04 Feb 2007 Posts: 116 Location: London
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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emordnilap wrote: |
Thanks for that.
I like the in-built system for dealing with direct and indirect emissions that is the simplicity of C&S but I take your points. Both systems (I'm not a fan of C&D) are very similar. |
No worries.
And yes, I'd speculate that that simple way of dealing with indirect emissions is what Richard Douthwaite liked about TEQs too, and so preserved it in C&S while attempting to strip it down a little. Personally I believe C&S lost some pretty essential elements, such as a response to peak oil, but others don't agree that that's critical. No time for an in-depth discussion of that just now!
Cheers,
Shaun |
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