LIVING IN A CARBON-CONSTRAINED WORLD
Anyone with an interest in climate change will be aware of the concept of carbon trading.
Numerous schemes have been proposed and they all have their own strengths and
weaknesses. Basically carbon trading involves commodifying C02 and creating a tradeable
market based on supply and demand.
Two British environmentalists, Tina Fawcett and Mayer Hillman have come up with a
carbon reduction scheme based on the system of Contraction and Convergence. C&C was
first proposed by the Global Commons Institute (GCI) in 1990. C&C is founded on two
principles. The first is that global emissions of C02 must be progressively reduced.
The second principle is that the reductions must be based on equity and fairness. The
linchpin of the scheme is based around the concept of a personal carbon allowance. (PCA)
The PCA scheme requires two pieces of data. The first step is to establish a maximum
carbon dioxide level that can be emitted without damaging the planet. The second step is to
establish the time frame over which this reduction can be achieved. Once these figures are
established then it’s a simple matter to divide the total allowable emissions by the number
of people. This sets the personal carbon allowance. The target is based on the latest
scientific information available and is tougher than the Kyoto protocol which is based on
political expediency.
The proposed system is mandatory. All adults will be credited with an equal carbon
allowance. Children will receive a smaller allowance. At this stage the plan only involves
personal domestic emissions. That’s about 50% of total emissions.
Year on year reduction of the annual ration will be signalled well in advance. This takes
into account the need to not only reduce emissions but also the issue of population growth.
Personal travel and household energy use is included. Trading of rations is allowed. (A
pilot study of a small sample of people revealed that personal emissions in the UK varied
by a factor of twelve.) Some people will run a carbon surplus whilst others will be in
deficit. According to economic theory the trading scheme will allow the costs of adapting
to a carbon constrained economy to be minimised. Price will be determined by supply and
demand.
How would it work on a day to day basis? There’s a number of options. One scenario is for
citizens to be issued a credit/debit style card with a monthly or yearly carbon allowance.
Any time you buy petrol, pay an electricity bill or book an airline ticket your card is
debited. If you run out of credit then you’ll need to buy carbon credits from the post office
or maybe on E-Bay. Carbon allowances would become a feature of the household budget.
The consequences of this scenario are staggering to say the least.
The average Aussie emits about 9.5 tonnes of C02 per year. We need to be at 3 tonnes by
2020 and 1.1 tonnes by 2050. To put it in perspective a return air trip from Sydney to
London uses about 11 tonnes of C02 or three times your yearly 2020 allowance.
-Simon
PERSONAL CARBON ALLOWANCES