Populism could derail the green transition
"Western politicians are scared of a backlash against #ClimateChange policies that have been sold as good for the economy."
#NetZero goals are perceived to be championed by elites while for the ordinary person, the cost of the transition is too high.
https://www.ft.com/content/b9912ffe-08dd-4653-863c-21885d727d20
"Rural voter anger at #NewZealand's environmental policies to tackle #ClimateChange and reduce #CarbonEmissions may contribute to a return of right-wing parties to power at an Oct. 14 election, a shift that could diminish the country's green image."
Rural voter anger at New Zealand's environmental policies to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions may contribute to a return of right-wing parties to power at an Oct. 14 election, a shift that could diminish the country's green image.
"The strikes and the EV transition in general are hastening a moment of reckoning for the Democratic party. The wealthy coastal progressives who drive the Teslas that represent 60 per cent of all EVs sold in the US often care more about fixing climate change than labour rights. But if the Republican party nominates Trump and he wins, neither the planet nor workers will be safer. "
https://www.ft.com/content/bda59c3b-3038-450d-a0e1-46cd2654a555
If you want to avoid climate policy backlash, you must put social justice at the center of your #climate policy.
Demanding everyone puts heat pumps in their house if they can't afford them invites backlash.
Asking auto workers to support the EV transition while you don't have their back invites backlash.
Expecting farmers to suddenly do things differently invites backlash.
Levying a fee for entering a #ULEZ zone without providing viable alternatives to travel by car invites backlash.
You need to bring everyone along. An example of doing it right:
When Spain closed down their last coal mines in 2018, they spent €250 million on :
- early retirement for miners over the age of 48,
- restorative environmental measures in coal communities
- retrain coal miners to begin working with safer, more modern green technologies."
These mines were closed without a fight. (I mean, did you even hear about the closures?)
Good start:
"#Biden’s decision to join the #strike would be remarkable on its own. Beyond the obvious symbolism, his presence there lends tangible material support to workers’ demands, handing the union leverage over companies that might otherwise reasonably assume he’d have their backs.
It could also usher in a broader shift in the way he and other Democrats talk about #climate policy."
#UAWstrike
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/29/biden-auto-strike-uaw-climate-crisis
"Properly implemented, [a #JustTransition] enables governments and other stakeholders to avoid a backlash from the wider population as they seek to enact sweeping and necessary change."
Melbourne Business School Melbourne Oct 16 The Conversation For those people focused on meeting the profound challenge of shifting our economies from fossil fuels to clean energy sources recent headlines from Europe have made alarming reading
"The #unions behind California Labor for Climate Jobs represent teachers, utility workers, farmworkers, janitors and more. Their initial policy platform, the #California Workers’ Climate Bill of Rights, urges policymakers to invest in safety nets for oil and gas industry employees, including #healthcare coverage and relocation, and to fund #training programs that prepare those employees for similarly well-paying union jobs in climate-friendly fields."
Six #climate and #energy bills are multi-prong approach to bring clean energy to #MIchigan, fast.
"#Whitmer said the bills will lower household utility costs by an average of $145 a year, create 160,000 “good-paying” jobs, and bring nearly $8 billion of federal tax dollars home to Michigan for #CleanEnergy projects. "
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a slate of bills Tuesday that take her proposals from the MI Healthy Climate Plan and make them into state law. Held at Detroit’s Eastern Market, the ceremony followed House passage earlier this month of a half-a-dozen pieces of climate change legislation from Democrats that address, among other issues, clean energy […]
"#Michigan Gov. Gretchen #Whitmer on Tuesday signed an executive directive to convert 100% of the state’s fleet to zero-emission vehicles (#ZEVs) by 2040."
The governor of the heart of autoland. That's leadership.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed an executive directive to convert 100% of the state’s fleet to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2040. “With today’s executive directive, I am directing state agencies to begin the process of converting vehicles owned and operated by the state to ZEVs by 2033 for light-duty vehicles and 2040 for […]
"President Joe #Biden’s landmark #climate law is driving outsized #CleanEnergy funding into low-income, less-educated and fossil fuel towns, according to a new analysis the Treasury Department released Wednesday.
The study found that so-called energy communities — those with historical ties to #FossilFuel industries like coal — have seen some of the fastest growth in these investments."
The wealthy "elites" are the ones who can afford to buy EVs (usually *in addition to* their ICE cars), and the ones who can plunk down the cash for a heat pump. As you point out, they're the ones who tend to own shares in the auto industry, not the auto workers.
It's time to raise taxes on them. We need those funds to support the transition for those who couldn't do it on their own.
There is enough money--capital--in circulation that a transition to a green economy is both possible and practical. However, doing so increases the cost of subsistance. As you pointed out, the cost of transportation is increased becasuse EV's are more expensive than a 2003 ICE beater.
The natural inclination of those who are currently entitled to profits of corporations is to retain said profits. Integral to retaining profits is keeping the cost of labour low: paying the bare minimum. The bare minimum is incredibly hard to survive on already. These people are right to be aggrieved at the wealthy elites for forcing such an onerous burden upon those who already have little.
Not only do taxes need to be raised, but the absolute right of a private owner to a private good, must be called into question. The ownership of private property invests the owner with significant economic might. Might has never been a measure of right.
For so long, the discourse around private ownership has been about individuality, independance, and personal freedom. Now, the discource around private ownership must add a new concept: Responsibility. To enrich oneself at the expense of one's fellow men cannot be permitted.
The concept of ownership must be destroyed in it's entirety, and be replaced by the concept of stewardship. We are all caretakers of our lands, our industries, and our peoples. We cannot be owners, and we cannot be slave-masters. Anywhere and everywhere the rights of private property are used to enrich oneself at the expense of others, those rights must be revoked.
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