Today we want to focus on an FT article that discusses Members of Parliament criticizing the current UK climate plan as it does not chart an exact path to 2050 goals. If any country is going to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement their path should probably be unclear at this time, in that transitional steps are needed to get from here to 2050, which are improvements on current power, and transport systems but not the ultimate solution. Furthermore, we still need some new technology, either improvement in current processes or radical breakthroughs to solve some of the harder emission problems.
The carbon strategy suggested below is a good example – it shows the various options open to industry and local municipalities, but long-term breakthroughs may make all of the near-term industrial moves redundant eventually – the fact that we do not know that answer does not mean that we should not move forward with the ideas that we have today – we have to try everything that helps.
Source: PA Environment Digest, C-MACC, March 2021
The inherent uncertainty in many of the pathways is likely to open up every national or regional plan to debate and criticism, but grandstanding for political gain or simply to get attention, or because the current plan does help your specific constituents as much as it could, is likely to be one of the greatest hurdles that we face in attempts to impact change. We still believe that the best of a bunch of imperfect policy choices is one in which the price of carbon and carbon equivalent emissions rises steeply, after a short period of warning. The obstructionists will try to pass the price through to consumers and will blame the governments for it. The collaborators and innovators will find ways to reduce emissions, either through the ability to produce the same product without emissions or produce an alternative and will ultimately put the obstructionists out of business. Fixing the issues of climate change needs coordinated non-partisan top-down policy and guidelines rather than selfish parochial obstruction.
Just as the ESG and climate lobby is doing a good job of identifying and calling out companies that are not doing enough, we would also expect them to start targeted campaigning against obstructionist politicians. Those complaining, simply to get attention without suggestions of alternatives worthy of consideration, could be out of work. Very few people have both the education and direct business experience to understand both the technology options open and the full economic costs of alternatives, which opens up the whole subject for less qualified opinion and criticism. Note that the criticism is not isolated to the UK and that almost every plan is under attack including California’s and China’s.
