James5

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I picked up a subscription to The Diplomat late last year, and have been consistently impressed with the standard of writing and content in each edition. I always read virtually every article, and even topics that are outside my usual interest I find are written in such a way that keep me reading and interested. The latest issue, Jun/Jul 2007, has an especially interesting section on carbon trading, credits and all the issues surrounding this market mechanisms used to respond to climate change.

The first article, available on the site, is about how Australian companies are missing out on the potential benefits of carbon trading - especially the ‘first comer’ benefits - whereas others are jumping into the industry to prepare themselves for future changes. The industry is still mired by inconsistent bureaucracies and weaknesses of some the systems designed to measure the carbon credits of projects, but has had some positive results in developing nations, and seen astounding cash flows and return on investments.

The other articles, available only to subscribers, take a look at different aspects of carbon trading. From how the idea has become mainstream, to what industry really want from the government (a target cap and carbon price would be welcomed by many in industry - especially those heavily reliant on carbon emissions, who need to plan for the future), to how companies are becoming carbon neutral. All in all a great read and well recommended.

Not to mention all the other great articles in this issue, the war against counterfeits in China, the recent defence spending announcement, and the current state of the Australian economy are all investigated. Finally, it also includes an outstanding photo essay from Nigeria of the recent election. Child voting is rife, and it seems the election was corrupt from the beginning, with the opposition beaten when protesting and whole villages denied access to ballot boxes.

Outstanding work from an outstanding publication.

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