Elegant Solution to Tackle Climate Change: Take Old Coal Subsidies
Speaking this afternoon at the Fresh Air Center in downtown Copenhagen, Stephen Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, explained how coal and oil subsidies are being withdrawn following an agreement by the G20. Great news! Especially smart was his suggestion that we take this a step further and instead of simply dumping subsidies, he calls on developed nations around the world to elegantly slide the money previously allocated to subsidies to help the developing world tackle climate change. It's smart, simple, doesn't require new funds, and would go part of the way towards paying the developed world's climate debt.
It's especially convincing considering the likely epic fail of the UN Climate Change summit in Copenhagen you'll likely witness at the end of the week. The final agreement — if one is even made — will be greenwashed and presented like a success, but only the leaders on the stage will be smiling. It's looking even more likely that a non-binding agreement will result from the two-weeks of negotiations that doesn't go nearly far enough to bind countries in way to sufficient cuts. However, as Stephen Kretzmann explains, there are simple solutions to be found amongst the wreckage caused by the fossil fuel industry.
One of the biggest problems and weakest parts of the expected agreement is that no long-term financing will be provided to help developing countries transition to non-carbon intensive economies. We've heard the EU has pledged a few billion, but as Kretzmann pointed out, we managed to find a few trillion last year to bail out the banks, and America continues to find the money to fund a couple of wars. This adds up to hundreds of times the amount being asked for.
Shift dead subsidies, save lives, begin to save world. Simple.
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