The internal burn engine must come to an end now

Given the current trends, the coming years will see rising temperatures, droughts, a struggle to feed a growing population, and a race against time to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

The struggle to prevent climate change highlights better and worse capitalism. Designing the economy requires alternatives to coal and oil-use vehicles.

Ries is what capitalism is above all, and there has been rapid progress in developing clean alternatives to coal, oil and gas. The cost of producing electricity benefited by solar and wind energy has declined. Major advances are being made in battery technology, which is vital to the new generation of electrical power vehicles. In the end, they will be “godain” climate change.

But by the time we are, it may be too late. Capitalism especially the Anglo-Saxon dominant version of capitalism has difficulty thinking beyond here and now. People who run large corporations view their work as maximized profits in the short term, even if it means causing irreparable damage to the world ecosystem.

Moreover, they think they should be free to continue to maximize profits without any interference from politicians, even though the fight against climate change can only be won if governments show leadership, individually and collectively.

Economist Joseph Schumpeter spoke of the process known as “creative collapse” the way in which inefficient producers have left business from destructive new technologies and that, as a result, transformation occurs. During the wars, the best brain has been employed by governments to produce more efficient killing machines.

But destruction, usually the creator takes time, especially if the old guard can march with enough resistance to change something that the fossil fuel industry has been able to do. Dr. Jekyll of emerging capitalism victorious over Mr. Come on. More than that, it must be an immediate blow.

In the past, politicians have opted to focus only on climate change when they think there is nothing to worry about. For example, Tony Blair gave a report by economist Nick Stern on climate change over the years prior to the global financial crisis, when growth was strong and wages were growing. Margaret Thattcher began speaking publicly only about environmental protection when the economy was flourishing in the late 1980s.

When policymakers have other things to worry about, dealing with climate change falls down on the list of things to do. The 2015 Paris Agreement, which forced the international community to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius, shows that the issue has been taken more seriously than it was two or three decades ago, but that does not mean it is at the top of priorities.

When times are difficult, politicians are pleased to have the argument that there is a trade between growth and greening of the economy. No. Companies estimate capital devaluation when drawing up their profit and loss accounts. If governments accepted the same principle and constitute emptying natural capital during drafting their national accounts, growth would be lower. In countries such as China and India where cities are dangerously polluted will be noticeably lower.

The good news is that in Beijing and New Delhi, policymakers have awakened to the idea that green growth is the best growth. China is committed to removing coal, in part because it is concerned about climate change and in part because it sees an opportunity to be a world leader in green technology. India, although slow to act, is also beginning to take advantage of the decrease in the electricity prices produced by the sun and wind, and has set its goal of seeking renewable energy.

But the bad news is that progress towards defuelisation is not fast enough. While things stay, fossil fuels will still account for more than 50% of energy consumption by 2050. CO2 issue will continue to increase and global warming will continue.

Stern says technological progress has been much faster than he thought possible when his report was published in 2006 and he thinks big creators should now admit that the internal combustion engine is coming to an end.

“But action speed is still too slow“, Stern warns. “Names must be on the roof now and they're turning down very sharply. We haven't worked on the right scale yet, even though the ingredients are there “.

Winning the race against time requires political leadership. This means recognizing that the Chinese model of capitalism directed may be more appropriate than the Anglo -xon model. A massive increase in investments in clean technology is necessary because 300 billion dollars spent on designation worldwide last year were simply compatible with the cost of US losses from climate events and weather-related. This also means increasing World Bank lending and regional development banks to help poor countries build wind and sun capacity. And a global carbon tax imposed quite high so that fossil fuels remain on earth must be implemented.

And more than anything, it means accepting that the world must fight against climate change. Powerful interests that say there is plenty of time to act as they are assisted by climate changers who say there is nothing to worry about. These people should be called. They're not unbelievers, they're climate change appeals. And they are as dangerous and wrong as the appeals of fascism in the 1930s.

/Guardian/