How does the carbon accounting mechanism fit into the United Nations SDGs?
Reminder: The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 targets (sub-goals) form the keystone of the 2030 Agenda. They take into account equally the economic dimension, the social dimension and the environmental dimension of sustainable "development" and integrate for the first time the eradication of poverty and sustainable development in a common framework. 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 planet's urgent challenges.
We are taking a description from the Swiss government to include the responses of the carbon accounting principle:
Eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere
The carbon account mechanism allows the most sober to be compensated for giving up quotas requested by those with the greatest deficit. If we go from 53 Gt of CO2 equivalent (2020 global volume) to less than 10 in 2050, the global average goes from 8t to 1t/pers/year in 2050. A quarter of the population (us) will hardly be able to go 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 give up 0.5t/year whose price will have exceeded $1000/t, that 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…
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
The 4thth The IPCC report showed the degradation of agricultural production under a warming of 2°C, this is 20 to 30% of crop losses, we saw it in 2021 with wheat degraded by 20% and the loss estimated in France at 10 billion euros by the April frosts after a month of March that was too hot. The climatic balance protects the food resource.
In addition, the monetary transfers presented in point 1 make it possible to develop agroforestry for the poorest countries.
Enable healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all agese
The increase in temperature causes discomfort and causes diseases to develop on continents that were not immune to them. Pest insects are spreading worldwide, such as the Asian hornet or the tiger mosquito. NASA studies for space cells have shown the effects of CO2 concentration on the brain: a loss of capacities of around 15% if we reach 550 ppm (planned for 2050) or 21% if we reach 1000 ppm. Let us remember that we went from 270 in the 19th century to 421 ppm in 2021. These are the capacities for memorization, reaction speed, recognition, etc. Bringing the CO2 level down to less than 350 ppm is a necessity of objective 3 which can only be achieved by the progressive capping mechanism that we are carrying out.
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities
We need resources for a good education worldwide. But also simple acts like the obligation to count carbon in addition to money. The generalization of the carbon account will make humans more intelligent with choices under several units, leading them to embrace the complexity of the world. Growth will necessarily be limited by the energy cap, it will then be necessary to have other sources of prosperity, in the etymological sense of what makes (pro) hope (sper). The movement will no longer be driven by fossil waste, but by the need for knowledge, culture, personal exchanges… dynamics that can only be based on quality education.
Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls
Male predominance has begun to fade since 1945 but remains marked by violence, religious cultures, and disparities that vary across continents. The inferiority of women is correlated with the state of poverty that can be helped by the carbon account. This mechanism also brings a female advantage in purchasing and consumption choices, as they are used to multi-criteria choices, even if only to prepare meals. The questioning of money by the arrival of carbon currency can overturn patriarchy.
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all and ensure sustainable management of water resources
The rationing mechanism to be put in place for carbon and GHGs can be duplicated for water; it would account not only for direct water but also for induced water. ¾ of our human responsibility for water comes from the products we buy and from public services that are not attentive enough. Without waiting, the carbon account will already make it possible to better manage clothing production and food will be less and less meat-based. 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 soy used to do this.
Ensure access for all to reliable, sustainable and modern energy services at an affordable cost
Accounting for the carbon that is included in fossil electricity naturally encourages investment in renewable energy and continued innovation for new sources such as thorium power plants, which produce no waste but have been neglected until now because they do not supply military sectors. Stratospheric wind turbines would also allow for very low costs. Last but not least, accounting leads to sobriety, which is the best source of lower energy prices.
The 17 objectives de facto lead to 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 mainly the work of self-employed entrepreneurs. The lower fossil energy content mechanically leads to more human work, a factor of employment for all. Degrowth forces 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 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 in creativity to decarbonize 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 requirement for soft mobility leads to investments in rail and energy infrastructure. For all investors, lifespan becomes an important criterion, strengthening the resilience of investments.
Reducing inequalities within and between countries
The carbon accounting mechanism allows the most sober to be compensated for giving up quotas requested by those with the greatest deficit. If we go from 53 Gt of CO2 equivalent to less than 10 in 2050, the global average goes from 8t to 1t/pers/year in 2050. A quarter of the population (us) will hardly be able to go 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 give up 0.5t/year whose price will have exceeded $1000/t, that 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…
Making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Carbon counting encourages caution and the search for food autonomy through local production with less transport. The unlimited and inconsistent use of fossil fuel transport has dispersed the sources essential to cities and regions. The abandonment of this transport puts territories at the heart of their security and sustainability.
Establish sustainable consumption and production patterns
The form of degrowth that the carbon accounting mechanism brings about focuses our consumption on the essential, on what makes sense, and makes us happy simply while respecting planetary limits, on what strengthens the bond between loved ones (observed as factor no. 1 in the criteria of happiness).
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
This is the heart of the carbon accounting mechanism through its individual quotas which are reduced by 6% each year.
This leads to the first guaranteed mechanical effect, since 30 times 6% makes 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 warming of the oceans and the acidification of the world's waters (acidification by dissolution to form H CO3), the carbon account therefore has a physicochemical effectiveness in protecting the oceanic balance.
It also leads to consumption choices towards more vegetables 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 us to sequester more carbon in rewilded areas (forests, marshes, peat bogs, hedges, etc.) and to stop the artificialization of soils.
It can help to limit cattle production to only pastures, eliminating industrialized production. In this case, the pastures contribute to sequestration, especially if they are crisscrossed with wild hedges.
Wilding leads to greater biodiversity.
The greatest risk posed by global warming is that of the barbarity that would follow mass migrations and loss of resources. The carbon account is objectively displayed as a factor for peace!
It also corrects an injustice that Anil Agarwal pointed out: "Who owns the carbon sinks?" What an injustice to see Westerners generating the most Gigatons of CO2, taking advantage of the oceans, forests, and wild areas of developing countries, which are the first to be impacted by climate change.
Finally, the carbon account requires international coordination of carbon agencies that find themselves engaged in an irreversible partnership, thus creating a new global governance to ensure the habitability of the planet.
What the carbon accounting mechanism proposes is an alliance of all earthlings to count together what was only accessory and which has become vital, the reduction of greenhouse gases!
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