Decarbonization mustn’t overlook the rich-poor divide

Synopsis: Unless the world addresses the distributional and inequality-causing impact of highly carbon-intensive economic models, our job towards limiting temperature rise to 1.5°Celsius will remain unfinished

Introduction

With increased carbon emissions the global carbon budget is also decreasing. We need to make suitable changes to our lifestyles to make them less and less carbon intensive. At a global level we need to reduce the fossil-fuel subsidies as they contribute to global warming.

How much subsidies does India spend on fossil fuels?

As per an estimate of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, India’s subsidy bill on coal, gas and oil alone was roughly $11 billion.

Another ₹800 billion annual subsidy goes into the transmission and distribution of electricity, which is mainly coal based, and hence an indirect fossil-fuel subsidy.

By comparison, our subsidies on renewable power and electric vehicles till 2018-19 were barely ₹99 billion, i.e., just about one-seventh of the direct subsidy on fossil fuels. With higher global oil prices, subsidies have also risen.

How much carbon space is available as of now?

The planet has a finite “carbon budget”; i.e., how much cumulative carbon dioxide concentration the atmosphere can tolerate and still keep the planet below 2° C of warming.

Already, our atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentration is 420 parts per million, which is 50% above pre-industrialization levels.

The world is fast running down its carbon budget at its current rate of CO₂ emission. Unless drastically cut, we will exhaust the budget in just seven or eight years.

Beyond 2° C, the world will suffer irreversible change, causing havoc with weather cycles, a rise in ocean levels, the submergence of island nations, as well as droughts, floods and food shortages. No amount of greening the economy or net-zero targets will help thereafter.

What is the way forward?

First, focus on solar energy, steep carbon taxes, and cut in carbon subsidies, will help to some extent.

Second, more than the poor, the rich, with their resource-intensive lifestyles, need to bear the burden of carbon taxes.

The rich world, including the small segment of high and middle-income earners in developing countries like India, needed to significantly alter their lifestyles. A reduction in consumption is imperative.

Source: This post is based on the article “Decarbonization mustn’t overlook the rich-poor divide” published in Livemint on 2^nd November 2021.