PARIS, Sept. 24 (Nouvelle Solidarité)—An article published on Aug. 16, 2021, by the British science magazine Nature Sustainability says that, because the Paris climate agreements have failed to keep the world temperature low, “the introduction of personal carbon allowances (PCAs), a mitigation policy proposal developed in the 1990s, is ripe for re-visitation.”
The authors argue that “recent advances in AI for sustainable development, together with the need for a low-carbon recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, open a new window of opportunity for PCAs.”
“This policy aims to link personal action with global carbon reduction goals. A PCA scheme would entail all adults receiving an equal, tradable carbon allowance that reduces over time in line with national targets. In its original design, the allowance could cover around 40% of energy-related carbon emissions in high-income countries, encompassing individuals’ carbon emissions relating to travel, space heating, water heating and electricity. Allowances were envisioned to be deducted from the personal budget with every payment for transport fuel, home-heating fuels and electricity bills. People in shortage would be able to purchase additional units in the personal carbon market from those with excess to sell. New, more ambitious PCA proposals include economy-wide emissions, encompassing food, services and consumption-related carbon emissions, for example.”