In reducing carbon emissions by 8% a year to 2030, as subscribed by the UN to halt a 1.5-degree rise in temperature, we’re going to need to do something pretty radical. Setting individual and potentially company carbon allowances could be a way of achieving it.
We could all be given a restriction on the amount of carbon we could use and like using money, for every purchase we would use our carbon budget. If we wanted to spend more of our carbon budget we would have to trade with others.
This system would be complex but not necessarily that costly to implement. It would result in lower carbon products and could be implemented quickly by applying the carbon allowance to purchase of things that already quantified the amount of carbon we use; electricity, gas, petrol and big purchases of vehicles etc. It could then go on to be applied to a much wider range of products and services.
You would obviously cut people’s allowances every year in line with country wide objectives.
What do people think? Would you accept having a carbon allowance? Do you think it would work?