Hello Mehdi. I am a social sciences researcher at CNRS and at the International Research Center on Environment and Development (CIRED). I study international policies that could end climate change and poverty, and conduct surveys among populations in various countries to understand how they would receive such measures.
To end global warming, the most reliable approach is to cap emissions internationally, with a cap that decreases each year in line with the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. The European Union is currently implementing this at its scale by expanding the European carbon market. The idea is to extend this system worldwide, and distribute the revenues generated in an equitable way. In practice, emissions permits would be auctioned to fossil fuel companies at the source of CO2within the yearly cap. The revenue generated would be redistributed as an equal transfer to every human being. This global basic income, amounting to €50 per month, would lift the 700 million people living on less than €2 per day out of extreme poverty.
For three reasons: moral, pragmatic, and political. Morally, I care about human well-being: that’s why I care about climate change. For the same reason, I want to end extreme poverty, which is rightly the first Sustainable Development Goal adopted by the UN. It would seem absurd for humanity to fight climate change without tackling poverty, which is just as much a global problem.
Moreover, there is a climate injustice to rectify: the poorest people are also the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, despite having contributed almost nothing to greenhouse gas emissions. Pragmatically, countries in the Global South cannot decarbonize without financial transfers from the North. Politically, these countries are indeed demanding such transfers to raise their climate ambition.
For a country like India to develop sustainably, rich countries must help it achieve its top priority: eradicating poverty.
Financially, Northern countries would indeed lose out, because increases in fossil energy costs would exceed the basic income they receive, for people whose carbon footprint exceeds the global average. Northern countries would contribute around 1 % of their income in North-South transfers. But this doesn't stop people from supporting the plan. Even once people understand they'd lose about €20 per month, 76 % of Europeans still support the plan. There is even majority support in the U.S.: 54 % of Americans support the plan after learning they'd lose $85 per month. It’s the genuine support from a majority—observed in surveys conducted with representative samples of populations in 20 countries—that convinced me the plan is politically feasible. Indeed, the surveys show that citizens strongly prefer a global climate measure over a national measure, because they are willing to lose a few dozen euros per month if they are sure the measure would end both climate change and extreme poverty.
Convincing governments is another matter, and I think some (in Russia, Saudi Arabia, and even the U.S.) cannot be persuaded. But that’s okay: the plan can be implemented by willing countries, as long as there are enough of them. The plan could be adopted by Northern countries whose populations largely support it (such as the EU) and by Southern countries (which would gain financially or at least not lose); this would cover two-thirds of global emissions and set a positive dynamic in motion.
How do you plan to convince governments to join such a plan?
We need to speak to them and explain that the population is willing to accept such a measure. That’s what I decided to do after discovering the survey results, by founding the advocacy association Global Redistribution Advocates. We meet with ministerial advisors, parliamentarians, and diplomats worldwide, and most are receptive to the idea. So far, no country dares to sponsor the initiative officially, but we’re working on it.
The main benefit, hard to quantify, is a stabilized climate at a still livable level. Morocco would also gain financially, though only slightly, since Moroccans’ average carbon footprint is just below the global average. According to my estimates, Moroccans would gain an average of $17 per year by 2030. Over the entire 21st century, transfers to Morocco would amount to 0.1 % of its GDP, as shown on the map.
To go deeper, you could:
- Buy buy the book or read it freely online
- Follow the association Global Redistribution Advocates
- Watch a video presenting more in detail this plan
- Follow Adrien on social media
Interview by Mehdi Mikou