And especially for the world’s poorest people they pose a threat to their lives, as they increase the risk of hunger and food insecurity.Ĭlimate change isn’t the only negative consequence of burning fossil fuels. They include an increase in extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, floods, and storms. They pose a large threat to the life of animals and ecosystems on our planet and include the destruction of coral reefs, forest fires, the loss of ice shields, and the expansion of deserts. These consequences include the negative economic impacts of climate change through its effects on people’s livelihoods, and the damage to infrastructure through rising sea levels, thawing permafrost, and extreme weather events. Some of the consequences of climate change are already visible today, but the most severe consequences will hit us in the years and decades to come: 1 We are paying a price for burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases. I believe a carbon price should be complemented by other policies and in this article I make the case that it is one of the most important policy options we have to achieve a better future. Increasing the understanding that carbon pricing works, correcting common misconceptions, and showing that there is a way forward are key steps for a successful fight against climate change. Many are deeply concerned about climate change yet feel hopeless that anything can be done to meet this challenge. It shifts production and consumption from carbon-intensive goods and services to low-carbon alternatives and does reduce emissions. A carbon price, in contrast, means that those who cause the emissions also pay for them.Ī key reason why voters are not in favour of carbon pricing is that many believe it won’t actually reduce emissions, but empirical research and theory show that this is wrong: pricing carbon emissions – either via a carbon tax or a ‘cap and trade’-system – is effective.
Without a monetary carbon price it is those who have the smallest emissions that suffer the largest costs from climate change. Even if we do not pay a monetary price for carbon emissions we do pay a very large price, the consequences of climate change. It is a mistake to believe that we are not paying for emitting greenhouse gases.
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