Britain’s biggest polluters are being handed the equivalent of £10bn under a little-known government scheme that is supposed to help tackle climate change, openDemocracy can reveal.
The UK oil and gas industry – which has made vast windfall profits this year – netted the largest share of the government handouts, with Ineos, ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco securing lucrative ‘pollution permits’ free of charge.
The UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is a ‘cap and trade’ policy that sets a binding limit on the amount of carbon companies can emit. Major polluters must obtain government permits for every tonne of carbon dioxide they emit.
