Carbon rationing

Mark Lynas of the New Statesman writes:

"You can't bargain with the planet because it doesn't care whether or not targets are "politically acceptable". So unless we secure a deal determining how much carbon each nation and each person can emit, we simply will not survive"

...

Nevertheless, imposing such a scheme - and imposed it must be, as participation could not be voluntary - would require political leadership and vision of the sort that seems to be in scarce supply in today's corridors of power. But such leadership need not, in the long term, be unpopular. Nor would it be incompatible with democracy. Who would march in Trafalgar Square against solving climate change? Probably about as many people as marched against rationing in 1940: none.

So how would it actually work?

By Sam Alexandroni

Every adult receives an equal carbon allowance (children get less) based on a yearly budget, which is reduced each year and set by an independent committee.

This allowance is divided into units. These are often referred to as tradeable energy quotas (TEQs). Every time you buy petrol, pay an electricity bill or book a flight, a number of units, equivalent to that amount of energy, is deducted from your TEQ account - in most cases automatically via direct debit. If you do not have enough units in your account, the price goes up to cover the shortfall.

TEQs behave like any commodity, fluctuating in price depending on demand and availability. If too many people use too much carbon, the units become scarce and the price goes up, making it uneconomical to live far beyond your personal allowance. This creates a powerful economic incentive to reduce carbon output, and to profit by selling the excess units.

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