Who is Responsible for Reducing Carbon Emissions to Fight Climate Change?
The climate change challenge can seem insurmountable, not just because of its scientific and environmental complexities, but also due to a frustrating lack of government action and public drive.
Essentially, the real issue is how to mobilise ordinary people to pressure politicians into taking action. This public pressure is needed because it is only through changes in policy that real progress can be made.
Politicians, in turn, need to see political benefits in acting on climate change. At the moment, however, there’s little incentive for them to do so.
Businesses, too, are not naturally motivated to tackle the problem unless there are clear financial consequences.
Carbon Emissions: The Role of Fines and Quotas
One of the most effective ways to push businesses and governments into action is through a system of quotas for carbon emissions, paired with hefty financial penalties for non-compliance.
We’re not talking about small fines here—these need to be significant, potentially in the range of thousands of euros per tonne of CO₂, not hundreds. Such penalties are likely to wake industries up to the reality of their environmental responsibilities.
Currently, some governments, like Ireland’s, face fines if they miss their CO₂ targets within frameworks like the EU’s. The same system applies to industries, but these fines often aren’t high enough to drive meaningful change.
According to an Environmental Protection Agency report, Ireland is facing possible fines in 2030 of between €4-8 billion for missing it’s EU carbon reduction targets under the EU Effort Sharing Regulation.
Ireland is not the only EU country set to miss their targets, at least 12 other countries in the EU are on course to fall short.
Source: Transport Environment
Germany is a case in point – if carbon allocations were to be traded at €129, the carbon price projected by Bloomberg in the ETS sectors in 2030, the country will have to pay those EU countries selling credits up to €16.2 billion. (For more on the EU 2030 climate targets)
In the USA, incentives come in the form of tax credits. Under the 45Q tax credit scheme, a company gets a credit of $85/tonne of carbon dioxide permanently stored in a geological formation and $60/tonne of CO₂ utilized in other products and processes.
What’s needed is a global approach, where penalties are substantial enough to make non-compliance unprofitable.
Global Carbon Emissions Systems and Equalisation
National governments are often reluctant to impose such systems because they fear it could disadvantage their own industries. That’s why global blocks, like the EU, are important. They can impose equalising penalties on imports from non-compliant countries, ensuring that local industries are not disadvantaged by tougher regulations.
For example, if China doesn’t meet certain emissions standards, the EU could apply tariffs on imports from China to level the playing field. This approach ensures fair competition while still pushing for global emission reductions.
Building Public Awareness and Pressure
But all of this requires more than just policy changes—it needs public awareness and pressure. Ordinary citizens have a massive role to play in demanding action on climate change. Just as we’ve seen with movements focused on political or human rights issues, people’s voices need to be heard when it comes to the environment.
Unfortunately, climate change is often seen as an abstract problem. People can grasp the idea of climate, but they struggle to relate it to their everyday lives. They don’t see immediate effects in their own backyards, so the urgency of the issue can seem distant.
This is changing, though, as the extreme weather caused by climate change is starting to rage across the world and is directly affecting people’s lives.
Also, real-time data, such as CO₂ monitoring, can help bring the issue to life. Watching a real-time counter of rising emissions, for example, could help people grasp the magnitude of the problem, much like the countdowns we see in disaster films.
The most trusted and consistent source of CO₂ measurement is in Hawaii at the Mauna Loa Observatory, as part of the Scripps CO2 Program. It has been measuring the CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere since 1958 and shows a clear link between rising CO₂ levels and the increase in fossil-fuel emissions and other carbon emitting human activities. (For more, see: Why Direct Air Capture?)
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Whose Responsibility is it to Address the CO₂ Problem?
This leads to the question of responsibility: is it on the shoulders of the government, industry, or individuals?
In truth, it depends on who has the power and the resources. If there were a world government, the responsibility would fall squarely on its shoulders. In the absence of such a body, the United Nations (UN) plays an important role in brokering agreements and setting global standards, although its power is limited.
The key lies in targeting heavy carbon-emitting industries, and the only way to do that effectively is through legislation and fines. Without financial consequences, industries will not change. However, governments need to ensure that their industries remain competitive. That’s where import tariffs and penalties on non-compliant products come into play.
Political Will and the Role of the People
For all of this to happen, there needs to be political will, which will only arise if people demand it. Yet, the urgency of climate change seems to be waning somewhat in the public consciousness. We’re even seeing a decline in the sales of electric cars, a sign that people aren’t prioritising environmental issues as they once did.
This shift is largely due to the influence of powerful fossil fuel lobbies, which have ample resources to control the narrative. Climate activists, by contrast, are often seen as extremists rather than realists, which makes it even harder for them to get their message across.
The imbalance of power and money between climate activists and the fossil fuel industry makes the fight for climate action an uphill battle. Activists play an essential role in pushing for change, but they’re often portrayed as extremists when their protests push the boundaries of the law. This skews the narrative and makes it more difficult for the public to take their concerns seriously.
The Power of Facts in an Age of Opinions
Yet, despite these challenges, there is hope. The internet and social media provides a platform for more voices to be heard, and the message of climate change can now reach a wider audience. In the past, the press controlled the narrative, and there were fewer channels through which to spread important information. Today, that’s no longer the case.
However, the downside of this broad access to information is the diminishing role of fact-checking. Opinions are often accepted as facts, and misinformation can spread quickly. This highlights the importance of sourcing reliable information, especially when it comes to a complex issue like climate change.
Conclusion
Ultimately, public pressure, grounded in facts, is key to driving political and industrial change. While individuals can make a difference in their everyday lives, the most impact must come from industry and governments. They are the ones with the power to implement large-scale changes that can help mitigate the worst effects of climate change.
In the end, the responsibility lies with all of us—but industry and government must take the lead, and the people must hold them accountable.
For more:
The Advantages of Direct Air Capture to Fight Climate Change
DAC Technologies