The tragedy of the commons

Are you familiar with the term commons?

"The commons (also the communal land or communal property) is a part of the communal assets (land, water, forest) that may be used as common property by the entire population" (source: Wikipedia).

 

A brief history of this:

Farmers keep their cattle on a communal grazing area. Initially, the number of animals matches the capacity of the meadow to avoid overgrazing. But when a farmer adds more cattle, the grass suffers and grows worse. This farmer benefits financially, while the meadow suffers damage. Although it is clear to everyone that too many animals destroy the pasture, self-interest often prevails. And so each individual asks himself why he of all people should abide by the rules when the pasture is overused anyway. As a result, the farmers bring more cows onto the commons. Soon the green grassland has turned into a muddy field that is useless for cattle farming. The farmers foresaw the end, but each of them knew that there was no point in being the only one to remain humble. The meadow would still have been destroyed by the others and they would have earned even less. So, by disregarding the limits of sustainable use, the farmers ultimately lost everything - a true tragedy.

 

Our atmosphere also represents such common property, which everyone is allowed to use and unfortunately also overuse as they see fit. The consequence of this overuse is the global climate crisis. However, individuals believe they only have a limited influence when it comes to climate protection, which leads to a lack of sense of responsibility. Similar to the neglect of public places, such as litter lying around in parks or the lack of cleanliness in toilets at highway service stations. It is the same principle: the tragedy of the commons.

 

How can the dilemma between self-interest and the common good be resolved?

This requires binding rules that distribute the limited common good fairly. In relation to climate change, this means that the right to pollute the atmosphere with climate-damaging emissions should be subject to rationing. It goes without saying that everyone should have an equal right to use the common resource, the atmosphere.

 

The non-profit organization for sustainable economics describes what such a model could look like at EU level with the concept of the complementary climate currency ECO (Earth Carbon Obligation). The issue volume of the ECO sets the consistent framework conditions that are absolutely necessary in order to reliably meet the climate target. The climate currency thus serves as an ecological basic income to which every citizen is equally entitled and which is tradable. It ensures that no one can emit CO2 beyond their means, to the detriment of everyone else. The ECO currency will also serve as an additional price tag for products, reflecting the carbon footprint of production and thus enabling consumers to make climate-friendly decisions. This will promote the responsible use of our planet's limited resources and accelerate the defossilization of the industry.

 

Find out more about this proposal, which has already been endorsed by renowned climate scientists such as Professor Dr. Dr. Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber: www.saveclimate.earth