Did you know? Not all policy solutions are created equally, and not all people are equally considered in policy solutions
We want to start this legislative session with an important message, one that we will repeat endlessly: “Climate policy cannot be designed at the expense of [BIPOC] low-income, poor and working-class people.” - Irene HongPing Shen, Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED).
One avenue for solving the climate crisis is through climate policies, for better or for worse. But not all policy solutions are created equally, and not all people are equally considered in policy solutions. As HongPin Shen says, “Climate policy in general is ultimately energy policy.”
We often hear about carbon pricing as a market-based solution (such as cap and trade programs and carbon taxes) that will solve the climate crisis by reducing emissions. This sounds great - in theory. In practice, it’s less than ideal.
By choosing a market-based solution, we are implicitly accepting the extractive and unjust economic structure under which we currently operate. Research conducted by the NAACP considers the following key points as to why these solutions don’t work:
It’s a band-aid solution and doesn’t solve the root of the climate crisis (industries will still burn fossil fuels for energy)
Carbon pricing does not produce localized emissions reductions and can worsen pollution (which continue to harm the BIPOC and low-income communities that live in close proximity to these facilities)
Often, carbon pricing favors the polluters (they are flexible by design)
Carbon prices are too low, and many places that have implemented a carbon tax have seen a rise in emissions
Wicked problems require radical solutions, and a carbon pricing system doesn’t provide just, equitable, or even less-polluting options for policymakers. In fact, according to the PNAS scientific journal “as of 2019, existing carbon pricing schemes only cover about 20% of global emissions and more than two-thirds of these have prices below $20 United States dollars (USD) per ton of CO2 equivalent. This is far too low to be effective and increasing coverage and prices presents serious challenges.” Instead of a band-aid solution, we need to consider opportunities for a Just Transition away from fossil fuels and towards a better future.