Dieter Helm
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300186598
- eISBN:
- 9780300188646
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300186598.001.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
This book explains the causes of climate change and who is responsible for it. It shows that the emissions keep going up, and that nothing of substance has yet been achieved after more than two ...
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This book explains the causes of climate change and who is responsible for it. It shows that the emissions keep going up, and that nothing of substance has yet been achieved after more than two decades of effort. It is claimed that the energy sector can be converted from an overwhelmingly carbon-based one to almost zero carbon in the space of half a century, all at just a small cost, or even a profit, based on simplistic assumptions about economic growth and a new industrial revolution. The current industrial structures of all developed and most developing economies are overwhelmingly carbon-based. Decarbonizing requires the coordinated replacement of almost all of the capital stock of the world. Tackling climate change does mean lowering standard of living from its current unsustainable levels, even after the economic crisis. A border carbon tax has one other great virtue: it provides a bottom-up way of getting global action, and avoids the tortuous Kyoto-style top-down negotiations. Applying border adjustments is bound to take time and cause transitional difficulties. Carbon pricing is necessary, but it is not sufficient. By considering climate change mitigation in the context of a limited ability to pay, a very different strategy emerges. For the amounts currently spent, carbon emissions could be cut by much more in the short run, and the possibility of a series of breakthroughs could be husbanded through a major international R&D programme.Less
This book explains the causes of climate change and who is responsible for it. It shows that the emissions keep going up, and that nothing of substance has yet been achieved after more than two decades of effort. It is claimed that the energy sector can be converted from an overwhelmingly carbon-based one to almost zero carbon in the space of half a century, all at just a small cost, or even a profit, based on simplistic assumptions about economic growth and a new industrial revolution. The current industrial structures of all developed and most developing economies are overwhelmingly carbon-based. Decarbonizing requires the coordinated replacement of almost all of the capital stock of the world. Tackling climate change does mean lowering standard of living from its current unsustainable levels, even after the economic crisis. A border carbon tax has one other great virtue: it provides a bottom-up way of getting global action, and avoids the tortuous Kyoto-style top-down negotiations. Applying border adjustments is bound to take time and cause transitional difficulties. Carbon pricing is necessary, but it is not sufficient. By considering climate change mitigation in the context of a limited ability to pay, a very different strategy emerges. For the amounts currently spent, carbon emissions could be cut by much more in the short run, and the possibility of a series of breakthroughs could be husbanded through a major international R&D programme.
Shaun Spiers
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447339991
- eISBN:
- 9781447346661
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447339991.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This afterword argues that if ministers really want to get houses built, they have the power to make it happen. However, obsessing about numbers alone is a bad mistake. The country will not get the ...
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This afterword argues that if ministers really want to get houses built, they have the power to make it happen. However, obsessing about numbers alone is a bad mistake. The country will not get the new houses it needs by privileging numbers over everything else. Indeed, another argument in this book is that the countryside matters. As well as a housing crisis, the country has a host of related rural and environmental woes. The country needs to think hard about the location of new homes and build them in ways that foster nature and help address climate change. A serious push to ensure that all new homes are zero carbon and energy efficient will have significant social, economic, and environmental benefits.Less
This afterword argues that if ministers really want to get houses built, they have the power to make it happen. However, obsessing about numbers alone is a bad mistake. The country will not get the new houses it needs by privileging numbers over everything else. Indeed, another argument in this book is that the countryside matters. As well as a housing crisis, the country has a host of related rural and environmental woes. The country needs to think hard about the location of new homes and build them in ways that foster nature and help address climate change. A serious push to ensure that all new homes are zero carbon and energy efficient will have significant social, economic, and environmental benefits.
