{"id":45226,"date":"2025-02-19t20:18:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-19t20:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=45226"},"modified":"2025-02-19t20:18:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19t20:18:03","slug":"climate-solutions-just-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/climate-solutions-just-future\/","title":{"rendered":"beyond the market: rethinking climate solutions for a just future"},"content":{"rendered":"
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two years ago at the african climate summit in kenya, i met hajar ahjum-mathee<\/a> from south africa, who shared her community\u2019s struggles. outside the crowded conference hall, she expressed frustration. \u201cthey say we must pay more for electricity because of climate change,\u201d she said. \u201cbut has anything changed? the air is still dirty. the heat is worse. and we are the ones who pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

her words made me question the way we\u2019ve been approaching climate change solutions. we’ve been told that pricing carbon \u2014 making pollution expensive \u2014 will force industries to clean up their act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but hajar\u2019s perspective revealed a fundamental flaw in this economic model:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

who really pays?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the market\u2019s promise \u2014 and its failure<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

the south african government (2019)<\/a>, through the national treasury, implemented the carbon tax act<\/em> to curb greenhouse gas emissions by assigning a cost to pollution, aiming to encourage businesses to transition to cleaner alternatives. according to the international monetary fund (imf) (2023)<\/a>, if companies paid for each ton of carbon emitted, they would find cleaner ways to operate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

this carbon tax act<\/em> was rooted in neoclassical economic principles, with policymakers assuming that price signals alone would drive rational decision-making, leading to emissions reductions. however, this approach overlooked the complexities of human behavior and economic disparities. markets do not think\u2014people do. and human behavior does not always align with economic models’ predictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

by treating climate change as a market problem according to aldy and stavins (2011)<\/a> \u2014 one that could be solved through the right pricing mechanisms \u2014 this act failed to account for the social and economic realities of those most affected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

on paper, emissions dropped. however, in townships like hagar’s, where energy costs rose as industries passed on expenses, the reality was stark. as reported by the international monetary fund (imf) in 2023<\/a>, families already struggling with poverty found themselves paying higher electricity bills, while industries lobbied for exemptions and continued polluting, illustrating the unintended consequences of a purely market-driven approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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