A Stable, Hospitable Climate

It has become apparent that climate disruption is not a future event; it’s happening now. The heat waves, extreme storms, drought, and reduced crop yields are just a start. It WILL get worse. We’re told the global average temperature rise from the pre-industrial level could be as high as 10 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100. Sea-level rise could be 8 feet. We must avoid the worst-case scenarios because they will mean the end of most or all human life.

An independent international group of experts concluded in January of 2023 that to stabilize the climate at less than 3.8°F (2°C) above 1750 temperatures we must achieve three objectives:

  • End emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) into the atmosphere now!
  • Remove a gigatonne (GT, a billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year from the atmosphere within six years (by 2030).
  • Ramp up carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to 5 GTCO2 per year by 2050.

At this time there is no plan to realize any of these milestones. Yet, without all three we are leading humanity, as if lemmings, toward extinction.

My administration will treat climate disruption as the crisis it is. We will mobilize the public, business and government to dramatically change our behaviors, practices and policies – in order to stabilize the climate before it creates a hell on Earth. 

We must hold temperatures below 3.8°F (2°C) above 1750 levels. We will lead by example and work arduously to persuade all countries on Earth to join with us in this undertaking. But we will not act immaturely and wait for other nations to act. We will lead.

One of the primary reasons for our failure to rein in our CO2 emissions, is insistence that any climate response not interfere with economic growth. That line of reasoning will NOT continue. My economic policy will focus on contracting our economy. This will help us reduce CO2 emissions.

Renewable energy has its place in our low-carbon future. It cannot, however, be scaled up to meet the energy needs of our current system (see studies below), and it has significant negative impacts. We may provide some financial incentives in this arena, but not extensive. It’s more important that we put ourselves on an energy diet. We will monitor our energy usage and make a national project of reducing our energy use.

Public policies will be implemented to help us all make the changes needed:

  • All fossil fuel subsidies will be eliminated
  • NO new fossil fuel projects (including Federal mineral rights leases) will be approved
  • Taxes and/or fees (carbon pricing) to make burning fossil fuels PAINFULLY expensive
  • Carbon pricing at extreme levels for frivolous, wasteful, and inexcusable high-energy behavior (particularly by the mega-rich)
    • Private jets
    • Yachts
    • Multiple homes
    • Mansions
    • Cruises
    • Habitual air travel
    • Purchase of non-durable and non-repairable goods
  • Steer revenue from this carbon-pricing to lower and middle-income families, with an emphasis on incentivizing low-carbon behaviors such as insulating homes, reducing meat consumption, and replacing auto use with walking, biking and public transportation
  • Also steer this revenue to support efforts to reorganize local economies to meet needs with less material and energy consumption
  • It’s not my intention to take away freedoms. We will all have the freedom to choose how we live and travel. But we’ll have pricing signals to help us make decisions that are in the best interest of our children and future generations.

My administration’s transportation, population, energy and agriculture policies will play a significant role in reducing our emissions.


LEARN MORE

Fossil Fuel Industry Gets Subsidies of $11m a Minute, IMF Finds

Our Renewable Future – by Richard Heinberg

Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition – by Megan K. Seibert and William E. Rees

Scientists Warn 1 Billion People on Track to Die From Climate Change

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