Guest Fadhel Kaboub and host Steve discuss the problems with carbon markets as a solution to climate change, emphasizing the injustice of historic polluters buying carbon credits. They highlight the need for systemic change and a new vision for Africa and the global South, focusing on food sovereignty, energy sovereignty, and industrial policy. They also talk about power dynamics, the role of governments, and the importance of mobilizing for change, recognizing our interconnectedness and the need for a movement of movements.
Carbon markets are a false solution, benefiting wealthy middlemen while displacing vulnerable communities in developing countries and offering minimal financial contributions for climate reparations.
Just transition is crucial for addressing the climate crisis and achieving sustainable prosperity by phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure, investing in renewable energy sovereignty, and supporting affected workers and communities.
To address climate change, urgent action is needed to challenge the global financial architecture, unfair trade practices, and prioritize a just transition that focuses on renewable energy, food sovereignty, and industrialization for the global south.
Deep dives
The False Solution of Carbon Markets
Carbon markets are presented as a solution for climate finance, but they are actually a false solution. The concept of carbon credits allows historic polluters to buy a license to continue polluting, without reducing their emissions. This creates a market that benefits wealthy middlemen, while displacing vulnerable communities in developing countries. The establishment of carbon markets also leads to the privatization of land, further exacerbating neo-colonialism. Instead of true climate reparations, developing countries are offered minimal financial contributions and crumbs, while the historic polluters escape responsibility. The idea of carbon markets is essentially greenwashing, with little to no positive impact on addressing climate change.
Just Transition as an Alternative
To address the climate crisis and achieve sustainable prosperity, it is crucial to prioritize just transition. This comprehensive strategy includes phasing out fossil fuel infrastructure, investing in renewable energy sovereignty, and supporting countries heavily dependent on fossil fuel exports. Just transition also emphasizes the need for a fair and smooth transition for workers and communities affected by the shift away from fossil fuels. By repositioning the global south in the global economy and focusing on manufacturing and deploying clean energy technologies on the continent, it is possible to win on multiple fronts: economic transformation, addressing climate change, improving public health, and promoting gender balance. Just transition provides a pathway to transformation that goes beyond incremental reforms and tackles the root issues in the global economic system.
The Urgency and Stakes of Climate Change
Climate change presents an urgent and existential threat. By 2050, millions of people will be displaced due to climate events, with the majority in the global south. This displacement creates immense challenges in providing housing, food, jobs, and other resources. The global north, responsible for historic emissions, must take responsibility and ensure climate reparations are paid to the global south. The consequences of inaction are devastating, leading to conflicts, loss of lives, and worsening living conditions. Urgent action is needed to address the underlying systemic issues, including the global financial architecture, unfair trade practices, and the need for a just transition that prioritizes renewable energy, food sovereignty, and industrialization for the global south.
Building a Movement for System Change
To achieve meaningful system change, it is essential to build a movement of movements that recognizes the interconnectedness of various subsystems and works towards a common goal. This movement should prioritize education, mobilization, and organization to empower people to think systematically and connect the dots between different struggles. It is critical to identify and challenge those who co-opt the language of transformation and offer incremental reforms instead. Parallel structures need to be built from the ground up to make existing systems irrelevant and force them to adapt to the new transformative vision. By envisioning a new system and working collectively towards its realization, we can address the pressing challenges of climate change, economic inequality, and social justice.
The Call for Bold Action and Parallel Systems
In the face of life and death struggles caused by climate change, bold and transformative action is necessary. Merely tinkering with existing systems won't bring the necessary change. Instead, we need to champion parallel systems that prioritize global cooperation, sustainable development, and justice. These new systems must challenge the prevailing neoliberal model that perpetuates exploitation, inequality, and environmental degradation. By focusing on climate justice, just transition, and reimagining the global financial architecture, we can create a world that values human lives, protects ecosystems, and ensures a just and sustainable future for all.
**Tuesday evenings, Real Progressives and friends gather on Zoom for a listening party and discussion of Macro N Cheese. To register, go to the events calendar on our website and look for the upcoming Tuesday: https://realprogressives.org/rp-events-calendar/
This week’s episode welcomes back Fadhel Kaboub, a valued friend of this podcast. He and Steve discuss the concept of just transition and the problems with carbon markets as a solution to climate change. They stress the injustice of historic polluters buying carbon credits to continue polluting while displacing vulnerable communities in developing countries. It is yet another capitalist solution. The current global financial architecture, established during colonial times, is neither designed to address the climate crisis nor to promote sustainable prosperity.
They emphasize the need for systemic change and a new vision for Africa and the global South that prioritizes food sovereignty, energy sovereignty, and industrial policy. They talk about the power dynamics between labor and capital, the role of governments in perpetuating inequality, and the importance of mobilizing and organizing for change.
They highlight the narrow constructs that society is allowed to consider, which prevent true transformation and progress. They emphasize the importance of recognizing our interconnectedness and the need for what Fadhel calls “a movement of movements.”
Fadhel Kaboub is an Associate Professor of economics at Denison University, the president of the Global Institute for Sustainable Prosperity. Check out his recent work at https://justtransitionafrica.org/
@FadhelKaboub on Twitter
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