This opinion piece published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores and purports to debunk the idea of carbon pricing being the primary mechanism by which climate policy...
This opinion piece published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores and purports to debunk the idea of carbon pricing being the primary mechanism by which climate policy should be formulated. The author puts forwards the concept of "Sustainability Transition Policy", the idea that system change, rather than just economic change, is required to create the drastic reforms needed to combat the current climate crisis. The author posits,
...the dominant logic of contemporary climate policy, in which carbon pricing is the central policy response, is deeply flawed. Given the aforementioned shortcomings, carbon pricing should not be the primary policy strategy to combat climate change. Instead, carbon pricing should be used as part of a policy mix that promotes innovation and decline, accounts for political dynamics, varies between sectors and over time, and aims at profound system change.
I would tend to agree with the author. They make an excellent point in that many current minds in the energy sector blame "the markets" for failing, when in reality a combination of entrenched norms created over more than a century have lead to this situation. By realizing this as a systemic problem, we can cease using economical (and more politically palatable) band-aids to control what is a hemorrhaging, life threatening wound.
This opinion piece published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences explores and purports to debunk the idea of carbon pricing being the primary mechanism by which climate policy should be formulated. The author puts forwards the concept of "Sustainability Transition Policy", the idea that system change, rather than just economic change, is required to create the drastic reforms needed to combat the current climate crisis. The author posits,
I would tend to agree with the author. They make an excellent point in that many current minds in the energy sector blame "the markets" for failing, when in reality a combination of entrenched norms created over more than a century have lead to this situation. By realizing this as a systemic problem, we can cease using economical (and more politically palatable) band-aids to control what is a hemorrhaging, life threatening wound.