The current solutions to the cost of living and energy crises are based on borrowing money from future taxpayers and doubling down on fossil fuels; despite the IEA and IPCC warnings that we need to keep fossil fuels in the ground to stand any chance of staying below a 1.5 degree global temperature rise. Francesco La Camera, director-general of IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) recently said, “If we don’t change dramatically the way we produce and consume energy, 1.5C is close to vanishing,”
There is, however, a solution which would support households without the need for government borrowing and also contribute to the phasing out of fossil fuels without costing the taxpayer!
The solution is not new, it has been successfully implemented in British Columbia and Switzerland since 2008 and Canada since 2019. It is called Climate Income or Carbon fee and dividend; our government knows about it, understands its merits and considered implementing it in 2021.
Climate Income is based on putting a steadily rising price on fossil fuels as they are put on the market and returning the revenue raised by the price (or fee) directly to households. If implemented it would offer similar support to households as the current support package, but also giving renewables even more of a financial edge over fossil fuels to develop an economy where we are no longer dependent on fossil fuels and contributing to global warming. Climate Income would continue to generate income to offset the rising price of fossil fuels until they have finally been priced out of the market – without costing the taxpayer.
Now is the time to take a serious look at what Climate Income could do for us..