Ngày đăng: Tháng Tám 22, 2023

Financing the Coal Transition

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Rocky Mountain Institute

This report aims to contribute to growing conversations about coal finance mechanisms, particularly as they move from concept to reality. RMI believes that financial mechanisms can be a transformational tool in coal transition efforts—but only if implemented well. Ultimately, the devil will be in the detail as to how financial mechanisms are designed and governed to meet the critical needs of all stakeholders and help deliver a rapid and smooth pathway to a climate-safe future.

RMI’s report, Financing the Coal Transition, shows how financial mechanisms can complement policy and regulation to help achieve a rapid, equitable, and smooth coal transition.

The economics of power generation are shifting rapidly in favor of clean energy, challenging coal’s long history as a mainstay of economic development throughout the world. However, much more work needs to be done to transition the existing coal fleet in line with climate and development goals.

The privileged place coal has occupied in power generation for over a century has entrenched complex barriers—from the way that grids have been built to the incentive structures within electricity systems—that prevent markets from catching up to the economic trend toward clean energy. In the absence of solutions to address these barriers, the costs of uneconomic coal will fall largely on local communities through direct costs and unpriced impacts on local health and the environment.

The global community needs new solutions to address the social and economic complexities of the coal transition while responding to the urgency of the climate challenge. One set of solutions currently under development are the innovative financial mechanisms designed to support the transition from coal to clean energy.

This report helps make sense of the various financial mechanisms proposed to date, and models the impacts of using different financial mechanisms to transition existing coal power plants. While it finds that financial mechanisms have the potential to generate wins for both the climate and communities, it also recognizes the risks of using finance to support the coal transition. To manage these risks, RMI proposes five key principles to guide the design of credible financial mechanisms.

five key principles to guide the design of financial mechanisms for coal transitionFive key principles to guide the design of financial mechanisms for coal transition

Download report here

‘The sleeping giant has awoken’: The legacy of the 2023 Women’s World Cup

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Aljazeeraa.com

As the record-breaking 2023 Women’s World Cup ends, many see an exciting future – and many challenges – for the game.

Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso celebrates after winning the World Cup [Amanda Perobelli/Reuters]

By Alex Thomas Published On 21 Aug 202321 Aug 2023

Sydney, Australia – The success of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has led to some grand predictions about the future of women’s football – and perhaps the boldest is that it will eventually surpass the men’s game.

“I’ve always said this and people thought I’m crazy but I think women’s football will be bigger than men’s football”, former New Zealand captain Rebecca Smith told Al Jazeera.

It might look like a contentious claim but few know the game as well as Smith.

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CLIMATE INEQUALITY REPORT 2023, FAIR TAXES FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH

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World Inequality Database

The climate crisis has begun to disrupt human societies by severely  affecting the very foundations of human livelihood and social organisation. Climate impacts are not equally distributed across the world: on average,  low- and middle-income countries suffer greater impacts than their richer counterparts. At the same time, the climate crisis is also marked by significant inequalities within countries. Recent research reveals a high concentration of global greenhouse gas emissions among a relatively small fraction of the population, living in emerging and rich countries. In addition, vulnerability to numerous climate impacts is strongly linked to income and wealth, not just between countries but also within them.

The aim of this report is twofold. It endeavours first to shed light on these various dimensions of climate inequality in a systematic and detailed analysis, focusing on low- and middle-income countries in particular. It then builds on these insights, together with additional empirical work and interviews with experts, to suggest pathways to development cooperation,and tax and social policies that tackle climate inequalities at their core.

Full report: https://wid.world/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/CBV2023-ClimateInequalityReport-2.pdf

Data point: fighting wealth inequality through climate policy

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

economist.com

Can progressive carbon taxes help alleviate poverty?

With unsustainable industrial development and unfettered capitalism driving climate change, it is no surprise that income inequality and carbon inequality are intrinsically linked. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlights the indisputable inequitable human impacts of climate change. Can climate policy interventions like carbon taxes address the complex and interconnected nature of global warming and wealth? 

Small carbon

More money, more carbon

Research shows that the richest 1% are responsible for twice as much carbon pollution as the poorest half of humanity. Yet those living in low-income areas and who are already facing the multidimensional burdens of poverty will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change.

The 2022 World Inequality report further emphasises the notion of “carbon inequality”, finding that global greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions are concentrated amongst a small percentage of people: the top 10% of emitters are responsible for close to 50% of GHG emissions. As the findings show, this is not necessarily a “rich” vs “poor” country problem, as there are high emitters across all regions. Those high emitters, however, are almost always part of a high-income earning bracket. 

If carbon taxes are effectively redistributed, they can fund policies that address both the social and environmental implications of climate change.

Can progressive carbon taxes help tackle carbon and income inequality?

Instruments like carbon taxes are essential to curbing emissions—something The Economist has argued for years. Some believe, however,  that these types of policy interventions can be regressive, and end up disproportionately burdening low-income communities and small businesses while allowing richer, high-emitting individuals and corporations to continue to pollute—as long as they can pay. These concerns sparked the now infamous 2018 “yellow vest” protests in Paris. 

Fortunately, if carbon taxes are effectively redistributed, they can fund policies that address both the social and environmental implications of climate change. Analysis shows that if every country adopted a uniform global carbon tax and returned revenues to citizens on an equal per-capita basis, it is possible to limit global warming to 2 degrees celsius by 2100 above pre-industrial levels. This type of redistributive carbon tax would also increase wellbeing, reduce inequality and could alleviate poverty across the world.