How does the carbon account mechanism fit into the United Nations SDGs?
Reminder: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets (sub-goals) form the keystone of Agenda 2030. They fairly take into account the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the economy. sustainable "development" and for the first time integrate the eradication of poverty and sustainable development into a common mechanism. They have been validated by the United Nations since 2015.
The SDGs must be achieved by all UN member states by 2030. This means that all countries are called upon to jointly address the urgent challenges of the planet.
We use a description by the Swiss government to include the responses of the carbon account principle:
End poverty in all its forms and everywhere in the world
The carbon account mechanism allows the most sober to be compensated for ceding allowances requested by the most in deficit. If we go from 53 Gt of CO2 equivalent (2020 world volume) to less than 10 in 2050, the world average goes from 8t to 1t / person / year in 2050. A quarter of the population (us) will hardly be able to descend to - below 2t, they will have to buy quotas from the poorest (who are the most sober) which will eradicate their misery: if a billion poor humans can yield 0.5t / year whose price will have exceeded 1000 $ / t, that's $ 1000 for a couple and $ 500 billion on the planet. It is with these 500 billion that the rich will reimburse the carbon sinks used for two centuries ...
End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
The 4th IPCC report showed the degradation of agricultural production under a warming of 2 ° C, it is 20 to 30% of crop losses, we saw it in 2021 with wheat degraded by 20% and the loss evaluated in France to 10 billion euros by the frosts of April after a too hot month of March. The climatic balance protects the food resource.
In addition, the cash transfers presented in point 1 make it possible to develop agroforestry for the poorest countries.
Enable everyone to live in good health and promote the well-being of all at all agese
The increase in temperature causes discomfort and causes disease to develop on continents that were not immune to it. Pest insects are spreading worldwide such as the Asian hornet or the tiger mosquito. NASA studies for space cells have shown the effects of the concentration of CO2 on the brain: a loss of capacities of the order of 15% if we reach 550 ppm (envisaged for 2050) or 21% if we reach 1000 ppm. Remember that we went from 270 in the 19th century to 421ppm in 2021. These are storage capacities, reaction speed, recognition… Bringing the level of co2 to less than 350 ppm is a necessity of objective 3 which can only be obtained through the progressive capping mechanism that we are carrying.
Ensure equal access to quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities
We need the means for a good education all over the world. But also simple acts like the obligation to count carbon in addition to the currency. Widespread carbon accounting will make humans smarter with choices under multiple units, leading them to embrace the complexity of the world. Growth will inevitably be limited by the energy ceiling, so other sources of prosperity will be needed, in the etymological sense of what makes (pro) hope (sper). The movement will no longer be carried by the fossil mismanagement, but by the need for knowledge, culture, personal exchanges ... dynamics which can only be based on quality education.
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
The male predominance has started to fade since 1945 but remains marked by violence, religious cultures, and varying disparities according to the continents. The inferiorization of women is correlated with the state of poverty which can be helped by the carbon account. This mechanism also brings a female advantage on the choices of purchases and consumption, in fact they are used to multi-criteria choices, if only to prepare meals. The questioning of money by the arrival of carbon currency can tip the patriarchy.
The rationing mechanism to be put in place for carbon and GHGs can be duplicated for water, it would count not only direct water but also induced water. ¾ of our human responsibility on water comes from the products we buy and the public services that are not attentive enough. Without waiting, the carbon account will already make better management of clothing production and food will be less and less meaty. Consuming a kilo of beef is not only responsible for 15 to 30 kg of CO2 but also for 1000 liters of water, including the corn and soybeans used to do this.
Guarantee universal access to reliable, sustainable and modern energy services at an affordable cost
Accounting for the carbon that is included in fossil electricity naturally encourages investing in renewable energies and continuing to innovate for new sources such as thorium power plants, without waste, but neglected until then because they do not supply energy. military sectors. Stratospheric wind turbines would also allow a very low cost. Last but not least, metering leads to sobriety, which is the best source of lower energy prices.
The 17 objectives result in de facto a halt in GDP growth but stimulate employment. The energy cap contained in the carbon account mechanism could create 5 million jobs in France. Employment in the world is more difficult to assess because it is mostly done by self-employed people. The lower fossil fuel content automatically entails more human work, a factor of employment for all. Degrowth is forcing companies to refocus on the services they provide (cf Tim Jackson “Prosperity without growth”, DeBoek 2017, pages 176 and following) which leads to more decency in the work by eliminating extractive or productivist activities.
The carbon account is a factor of innovation through its leverage effect: if 100% of consumers, stimulated by the 6% reduction each year, select the least carbon-intensive products, companies must compete creatively to decarbonise their products and services. This is one of the main reasons for the creation of 5 million jobs in France. At the same time, the demand for soft mobility is driving investment in rail and energy infrastructure. For all investors, lifetime becomes an important criterion, reinforcing the resilience of investments.
Reduce inequalities within and between countries
The carbon account mechanism allows the most sober to be compensated for ceding allowances requested by the most in deficit. If we go from 53 Gt of CO2 equivalent to less than 10 in 2050, the world average goes from 8t to 1t / person / year in 2050. A quarter of the population (us) will hardly be able to fall below 2t, they will have to buy quotas from the poorest (who are the most sober) which will make it possible to eradicate their misery: if a billion poor humans can yield 0.5t / year whose price will have exceeded 1000 $ / t, it is $ 1000 for a couple and $ 500 billion on the planet. It is with these 500 billion that the rich will reimburse the carbon sinks used for two centuries ...
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Carbon counting stimulates prudence and the search for food autonomy through local productions with less transport. The unlimited and inconsistent use of transport using fossil fuels has dispersed the sources essential to cities and regions. The abandonment of this transport puts the territories back at the heart of their security and sustainability.
Establish sustainable consumption and production patterns
The form of decrease brought about by the carbon account mechanism focuses our consumption on the essentials, on what makes sense, and makes people happy simply in the respect of planetary limits, on what strengthens the link between relatives (observed as a factor n ° 1 in the criteria of happiness).
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its repercussions *
This is the heart of the carbon account mechanism through its individual quotas which are reduced by 6% each year.
This leads to the first guaranteed mechanical effect, since 30 times 6% make a reduction of 86%, allowing neutrality in 2050 and a return to less than 400 ppm CO2 before 2080.
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
One of the worst effects of global warming is the heating of the oceans and the acidification of the waters of the world (acidification by dissolution to form H CO3), the carbon account therefore has a physicochemical efficiency to protect the oceanic balance.
It also leads to consumption choices towards more plants and less fish.
It can encourage the creation of algae farms such as Kelp (very high CO2 sequestration) which can shelter regenerated biodiversity.
The carbon account encourages the sequestration of more carbon in re-wild areas (forests, swamps, peat bogs, hedges, etc.) and to stop the artificialization of soils.
It can participate in limiting beef production to only grasslands, eliminating industrialized production. In this case, the meadows contribute to sequestration, especially if they are crisscrossed with wild hedges.
Enlargement leads to greater biodiversification.
The greatest risk borne by global warming is that of the barbarism that would follow massive migrations and the loss of resources. The carbon account is objectively displayed as a factor of peace!
It also corrects an injustice pointed out by Anil Agarwal “who owns the carbon sinks? “What an injustice to see Westerners generating the most gigatons of CO2, taking advantage of the oceans, forests and wilderness areas of developing countries, which are the first to be impacted by climate change.
Finally, the carbon account requires an international coordination of the carbon agencies which are involved in an irreversible partnership, thus creating a new global governance so that the habitability of the planet resists.
Strengthen the means to implement and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
What the carbon account mechanism proposes is an alliance of all earthlings to account together for what was only incidental and which has become vital, the reduction of greenhouse gases!
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