All renewable in 10 years
Ending fossil energy in 10 years.
Reducing the global energy bill by 50%.
Increasing power purchasing parity of the lower 50%.
Good for the Planet. Good for the Economy. Good for the People.
The Global Climate Tax Scheme:
- We price CO2, in every country, at the same rate globally, at the point of final sale (of fuels, gas, coal), like a VAT.
- The climate tax starts at U$ 100 per ton of CO2 equivalent, increasing by U$100 every year, to give the economy time to adapt
- The climate tax is levied, managed and redistributed at the national level
- 50% of the climate tax revenues are directly re-distributed to the people, in cash, equally per person. More than 50% of the population will have more cash in their hands (even accounting for rising costs), boosting local businesses and the economy
- 40% invested in the renewable infrastructure – electricity generation, grids, storage, public transport, and the replacement of fossil-fuelled equipment
- 3% for reforestation, mitigation, and adaption
- 7% in a global fund in support of the lesser developed and most affected countries
No more oil, gas, coal.
A global climate tax, 50% re-invested in renewable energy infrastructure (generation, transmission, storage, appliances) generates sufficient revenues to replace all fossil energy demand within 10 years. Given that the markets will react to public policies, this target could potentially be achieved even earlier.
The future global energy mix, based on a global climate tax:
“Primary energy consumption” refers to the total energy usage, including losses. Because electric appliances are much more efficient that combustion appliances (e.g. fossil fuel car efficiency grade: 20-25%, EV efficiency grade:80-90%), electrification of the energy will significantly drop primary energy demand.Text content
The simulation is based on least-cost technologies, currently wind and solar PV. Future technological developments could potentially increase the share of utility-scale geothermal and tidal/wave electricity generation.
For more details on the simulation, read the Global Climate Tax Report.
Global GHG emissions under different climate tax levels (starting at U$50/tCO2e, increasing U$50 annually; U$100 increasing U$100 annually; U$200, increasing U$150 annually), and business-as-usual.
The pace of the de-carbonisation depends on the level of taxes levied on climate emissions. Simulation of different tax levels and their impacts on energy transition, the economy and the people indicates that an initial tax of U$100/tCO2e in creasing by U$100 every year, seems to be the most promising way, replacing fossil fuels after roughly ten years.
Good for the Economy
Renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil energy, and rapid deploymenet will make renewable electricity even cheaper. However, introducing a climate tax will lead to higher energy costs for a short period of time before the higher efficiency and lower cost of renewables drives global energy costs down to less than 50% of current energy cost:
Global energy costs as percent of global GNI under different climate tax levels (starting at U$50/tCO2e, increasing U$50 annually; U$100 increasing U$100 annually; U$200, increasing U$150 annually).
Setting the climate tax per ton of CO2 too high might have a shock impact on the global economy. The simulation shows that a climate tax at U$100/tCO2, and then increasing the rate by U$100 every year, seems the most feasible climate tax level.
However – because the climate tax revenues are directly re-invested into the economy, the overall global economic impact of the climate tax is positive. The additional investment through building a renewable energy infrastructure and the cash-back going into local economies more than offsets the initial higher energy cost.
The initally rising energy costs are off-set by climate cash-back and investments in the enewable infrastructure. The net impacts of a global climate tax would be economically positive, right from the the initial stage.
Good for the People
Rich people consume more than poor people, including services (heating/cooling, road transport, flying) that consume energy. The more a person consumes, the higher the taxes paid. Vice-versa, for poorer people that consume less energy, the tax burden is smaller.
When the tax revenues are re-distributed per capita, nearly 60% of the population will have more disposable income in their hands than before the climate tax – boosting local businesses and the local economy.
Income change by income group due to the climate tax
Income changes for different income brackets based on a climate tax starting at U$100/tCO2, accounting for increased energy costs and per-capita cash-back. This graph is calculated based on global averages. A break-down by country level is available.
Generally speaking, the income changes for the lower 50% income brackets is higher the lower the current GNI of a country is.
The additional income generated by the climate tax cash-back benefits local small businesses and the local economies.
More details, including detailed simulations of the globally co-ordinated fossile tax can be found here.
What’s at stake
In one word: everything.
Since May 4th, 2023, the ocean temperature has set new records, every single day.
Sea surface temperatures have set daily ecord since May 2023. 71% of our Plant’s surface is water. What happens on the seas happens on land. Data by Copernicus
2023 laready has passed the 2050 goal of staying below 1.5 degrees of warming. The running average of global land temperatures (2m above ground) since May 2023 is more than 1.6 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and we see what is happening: heat, droughts, wild-fires, rain bombs, hail, monster storms, flooding. It is only a question of possibly very short time before we see reduced crop harvests, nearly everywhere, that will only accelerate in the future. Without sufficient food, there is no stable society.
Politics
We have all the technology, the financial means, and the political tools (taxes!) which are needed to transition to a renewable economy.
Unfortunatelly – there is no sign anywhere of a workable plan to make the energy transition happen. Implementing a global climate tax would require governments to come together, to agree, and to implement a common policy. Globally. That is currently not the case.
In order to give us a fighting chance, we need pressure bottom-up (the people) and top-down (businesses) on governments to act on our behalf.
