Reversing Climate Change isn’t easy, or we’d already have done it. After years of sifting through the science, turning raw data into climate models, and rethinking basics: I’ve concluded that we need to look at the problem from a completely different perspective. We need to turn climate change on its head. We need to change our focus away from limiting emissions by people and concentration on limiting fossil fuel production by companies.
If fossil fuels stay in the ground they never become
emissions. So let’s ration the global total of carbon extracted by big
business. This carbon ration would have to start at current levels and be
reduced steadily to sustainable levels as quickly as possible, while still
leaving time for alternative forms of energy to be developed.
Note that this carbon ration or quota has to be a global
total because we are fixing a global problem. The question then becomes how
does the carbon quota get allocated to those big businesses? The rule has to be
that no business is allowed to extract carbon from the environment without
having an appropriate matching amount of quota. The big businesses will have to
acquire a tonne of carbon extraction quota before they can extract a matching
tonne of real carbon. So this quota has value.
My proposal is that big carbon extraction businesses would
have to buy this quota on the open market. If they can afford to buy quota they
can extract carbon. If they can’t buy matching quota then they can’t extract
carbon.
Obviously this proposal will have to be agreed by all
countries and appropriate laws adopted by them. But why should countries
bother? They will want to because they will be allocated the quota free, which
they can then sell on the open market. Countries stand to make a lot of money.
I suggest that countries be allocated their split of the
quota based on their population. This would not only be the fairest way of
allocating quota, it will also move wealth to developing countries.
