Jessica |
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iCRAG Meeting 8 January 2007
Present: Jessica, Doug, Jacklyn, Lucy, John, Deborah, Guy, Alison
1. TARGETS
The meeting agreed to set the same carbon quota for each member, rather than a ‘contraction and convergence’ model per person. This was fixed at 4,050 kg for the carbon year 1 December 2006 – 30 November 2007 (a 10% reduction on last year’s 4,500 kg).
John will circulate a paper on carbon allowances for children.
A pro rata allowance would be set for a part year for new joiners.
2. PENALTIES
All CRAGs have a penalty should the total group quota be exceeded.
A two-tier penalty system was discussed that involved an initial
internal settlement of 2p per kg from over emitters to under emitters and then an external settlement of 5p per kg once the low emitters unused allowances had been utilised.
The meeting agreed there would be one penalty of 5p per kg (£50 per
metric tonne) about 10 times the current market carbon price. [The
closing price on 8 January on Point Carbon was actually EUR 3.88 per metric tonne (GBP 2.56)]
The low emitters would be paid the 5p per kg for their unused allowances to do with as they wish. Jacklyn said she’d be interested in using any personal gain towards local schemes.
3. EXCESS PENALTIES.
After settling with the low emitters, it’s anticipated there will be remaining penalty monies.
It was suggested we might want to buy carbon certificates from EU
Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Pure Trust, for example, will buy
certificates and ‘retire’ them so that they are no longer available to trade. This would push carbon prices higher and encourage carbon
reduction by ETS participants.
Are there other schemes that would give us bigger carbon reductions?
4. AIR TRAVEL EMISSIONS
There is up to a 50% variance for air travel emissions for the same
journey using different web sites.
John said that no two people agreed on the same algorithm. Factors
include the type of plane, fuel usage, take off and landing efficiency and the radiative forcing index (RFI).
Current calculations on the CRAG sheet use a high factor for take off and landing.
The RFI is used to account for the larger greenhouse effect of releasing emissions into the stratosphere and condensation trails. It can vary between 1.9 and 2.8 depending on the web site.
Climatecare.org may be the least imperfect site in that it changes plane type dependent on the distance traveled. John noted that the algorithm on the site changes frequently. John will ask them why that is.
John will advise on the use of a distance calculator for air travel that we can plug into our carbon calculation sheets at the end of the year. In the meantime, the group agreed that we would use the climatecare.org calculator, but that sums may be revised.
5. INPUT TO CENTRAL CRAG STRATEGY
Comments on the draft CRAG strategy document should be submitted to
Jessica by 22 January.
Lucy’s CRAG objectives were independently done and are intended to be more targeted and action focused than currently expressed in the draft Crag strategy document. It is vital to agree exactly what we are aiming to do before we start planning in micro detail.
They should be read in conjunction with the draft CRAG strategy
document.
6. COMMUNICATIONS
The CRAGs have a shiny new website and Islington has its own page. All iCRAGers were advised to register with the site and make use of it.
We will keep using our Yahoo group and cross-post items of interest to the central site, which is effectively our shop window.
Jessica will send out guidance on the uses of the yahoo group and the central site.
We will send the full text in emails, except where something is work in progress, where links will be used.
7. AOB
Fiona would like to be an associate member of ICRAG.
Our strategy should include, pensioners, children, the unwaged and
students.
8. NEXT MEETING.
Monday 5 February at 7.30 prompt. Contact Jessica or John for the venue. We will discuss our strategy/ development/ publicity plans for iCRAG.
*********************ACTION:
(1) John will circulate a paper on carbon allowances for children.
(2) Comments on the draft CRAG network strategy document should be submitted to Jessica by 22 January.
[Jessica says: As at 22 Jan, I’ve only received comments from Alison. I suggest that people email me their comments to the iCRAG yahoo group BEFORE next meeting on Mon 5 Feb, and at the next meeting we can discuss how to respond formally with iCRAGs agreed views. Please do take time to read the draft strategy docs (as circulated in my email of 5.1.07) as this is important for the network’s development: if you don’t have your say now, you’ll miss out.]
(3) All iCRAGers were advised to register with the website and make use of it. www.carbonrationing.org.uk
(4) Jessica will send out guidance on the uses of the yahoo group and the central site. [Actioned: see below]
(5) Deborah will phone a prospective carbon accountant.
(6) Guy will forward an email from journalist Jean-Paul Flintoff who recently wrote an article about Energy Co-ops. Guy thinks Flintoff may write a piece about CRAGs.
(7) Guy will design a leaflet for iCRAG.
*******************************Jessica’s guidance on use of the website and the iCRAG yahoo group (22.1.07).
1. There is already guidance on the website on how to make and order postings – click on ‘help’ at the very top of the site. Part of the aim of the website is to build up an archive of useful materials re carbon rationing, both as to CRAGs and what’s happening outside CRAGs. So feel free to post relevant useful items and links, with a brief explanation. Please be a good editor of your own postings: no more text than necessary, and think who your audience is! You can also upload files.2. Remember that there are two places where we can post – the main site fora, and our own iCRAG homepage. You can cross-post.
3. When you post an item, you should ‘tag’ it with one or more topics – this means it will appear on the pages where other items on these topics are posted; if you use more than one tag, it will appear on more than one page.
4. Don’t start a new thread if you can comment on an existing thread.
5. Remember that, presently, everything on the website is fully public. So don’t post surnames, addresses or personal information unless the person in question gives explicit consent. Also, don’t post emails or comments from third parties unless they have given their permission.
6. For the same reasons, don’t post sensitive or ‘just for the group’ discussions to the website (eg, talking re specific media handling issues or more sensitive or personal discussions). And don’t post mundanities such as whether you are coming to a meeting etc. Please just email direct the individuals who need to know or whom you think should be part of the discussion. We can always post text from these emails to the website at a later date for record/ information purposes, if we decide they are of general use, or if they have lost their sensivity after time has elapsed.
7. It seems that the iCRAG yahoo group mails can also be accessed by anyone who signs up the mailing list. I am checking if we can have control over who joins the list. If it must remain open, it may be that we don’t have much use for the yahoo group, but should just use either the website or individual emails.
8. For the time being, I will send out things like agendas and minutes by email to iCRAG, and will put the full text of documents in the email. Possibly in the future we might just put links to the website.
JR
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