Jane Powerson sharing emissions
Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases: who is responsible for emitting vast quantities of them? We, the rich nations, are - with our fossil-fuel-dependent lives. And who suffers the most from the effects of the ensuing climate change? They, the poor nations, do - with flooding, drought, crop failure, starvation, disease, and other threats to their existence.
There is no way to describe the extent of the unfairness of this. And there is no system that addresses it. Current methods of emissions trading favour business and governments, rather than individuals. Yet the state of the earth's atmosphere impacts on all people (especially the poor). The right to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases should be a human right, rather than a corporate one.
That, in a nutshell, is the idea which has spawned one of the most elegant, simple and fair solutions to the huge problem of global warming. "Cap and Share" (www.capandshare.org) is the brainchild of the energy and climate group of Feasta (Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability), a gathering of 41 international climate experts.
Economist Richard Douthwaite, who is one of the group, wrote about it in the "Earth Issue" of this magazine in January. But I want to remind you of it again quickly, and to urge you to look it up on the internet for a fuller explanation.
This is how it works (it can be on a national scale, but obviously, a global strategy is better for the world). Experts decide on a maximum level of emissions for the year: that's the "cap". (Each year emissions would be capped more tightly, allowing them to fall eventually to a safe level.) The right to emit is divided equally between all adults - both rich and poor - and emissions entitlement vouchers are issued: that's the "share". Each adult in the world, at present, would be entitled to 4.18 tonnes of CO2, less 10-15 per cent, for a "convergence fund" - to cover special cases (and "to give politicians something to fight over", according to Douthwaite).
Citizens sell their vouchers at a bank or post office. All companies involved in fossil fuel production buy enough entitlements to cover the emissions their hydrocarbons will emit. Government inspectors check the emissions and cancel out the entitlements.
Fuel prices would rise, but the value of the vouchers (about €300 at present rates) would offset the increase, except in the case of heavy users. The poorest people - today's victims of climate change - would have some money for essentials, and a fairer deal. I can't think of a better way of starting to re-balance our world - which is especially relevant today, on the eve of Earth Day.