Expensive emissions as a solution to the climate catastrophe?

This statement presents things as if emissions were primarily a luxury issue that could be significantly curbed by making them more expensive. The fact is, even if we no longer travel by plane (because it is too expensive) or order the latest smartphone every year, we still cannot consume in line with our CO2 budget - simply because we do not have sufficient realistic climate-friendly consumption and mobility alternatives at our disposal. 

 

To understand the relations: We in Germany have an average annual per capita CO2 consumption of around 10 tons/person. In order to meet the Paris target, this would have to fall to below 2t/person - a reduction of around 80% across all areas of life. This cannot be achieved by cutting back and doing without. This is why the path to reducing our emissions in line with the crisis by increasing prices can never work as long as industry does not decarbonize its manufacturing processes and offer sufficient climate-friendly alternatives. However, they will not voluntarily invest in this transformation at the pace required by the crisis, because the truth is that climate protection is not the primary interest of industry, but growth and profit. 

 

Furthermore, politicians are also dependent on a well-functioning, internationally competitive economy and shy away from regulatory interventions that could jeopardize this in the short term. And what about us consumers? Most people will have understood the urgency and necessity of climate protection, and nobody in their right mind can want unchecked climate change ... until political measures affect their personal comfort zone or their own wallets, because then their willingness to participate is drastically reduced.

 

Instead of making things more expensive, we need a game changer. Personal tradable emissions budgets create the necessary pressure on industry to decarbonize its processes with intrinsic motivation, and almost completely without the need for stately intervention.

 

Find out more about this solution: www.saveclimate.earth