Why Countries Are Not Tackling Climate Change

World leaders have committed to ambitious climate targets. Unfortunately, they are doing little to reach them. Climate change can be analyzed as a tragedy of the commons.

Instead of individual herders putting out more animals on common pasture, thereby degrading the grazing, individual nations are emitting more greenhouse gases while pretending that their emissions are being capped by stringent targets.

The key problem is not hard to spot: On their way to great prosperity, wealthy nations generate a lot of carbon pollution.

Up to the present, there has been a strong causal relationship between the growth of industrial economies and increases in their carbon footprint. Like the unprincipled herders, they take out profit and at the same time add damage to the environment as carbon pollution.

According to this reasoning, the future looks bleak because world leaders may give lip service to controlling climate change but do the opposite in practice. Indeed, a recent Washington Post analysis concluded that many countries are fudging the numbers, seeming to comply with climate targets while failing to do so.

China, currently the world's leading carbon polluter, offers a clear example of the mismatch between word and deed. Like Russia, another major polluter, China was a no-show at the Glasgow climate conference.

While spouting pious declarations about achieving carbon neutrality and promoting green energy, the Chinese Communist Party recently ordered coal producers to double production to address electricity shortages. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel and it remains the source of most Chinese electricity.

Is There a Way Out of the Tragedy Scenario?

With such conspicuous examples of bad actors on the world stage, many environmentalists have jumped to the conclusion that our species is destined to enact a global tragedy of the commons. This conclusion often reflects the impression that commons systems are inherently fragile.

This is not true and some agricultural commons systems in Switzerland have survived for a thousand years (1).

Commons systems need to be properly governed, however. For climate, this requires accurate reporting of carbon emissions and a system of penalties for noncompliance. Even at this late date, climate negotiators have begun to address issues of transparency and costs for noncompliance.

There are three different approaches to solving the commons problem of carbon pollution.

1. The Circular Economy

In autumn, leaves are shed from trees and get broken down into new soil that nourishes trees and other organisms. This concept of circularity is inherent in most biological systems and gives them their resilience.

Economist Kate Raworth describes conventional economies as being linear and inherently damaging given that raw materials are taken from nature, made into products, used, and converted to toxic wastes, including landfill, and carbon pollution that accrues at each stage of the industrial process (2).

Circular economies reuse waste materials and aim for carbon neutrality by exploiting green energy.

Such circular industries are being implemented in recycled paper and clothing but remain unpopular with manufacturers because they are labor-intensive and generally more expensive than linear industries.

If we want to save the planet from climate catastrophe, it is important to develop green industries that can actually make a profit and the current explosive growth in green energy offers a good example.

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2. Alternative Energy Industries as Generators of Wealth

Solar energy offers one optimistic example of how investing in green technologies can be very good business given that utility-scale solar electricity is now cheaper than oil in places with good sun exposure, like California. Such technologies may ultimately reduce carbon emissions from a variety of enterprises, including transportation.

Electric vehicles show how alternative energy may draw large pools of investment capital and enrich entrepreneurs and investors. For example, Tesla is now worth more than several other major car manufacturers combined. This industry is currently doing little for climate but will become more important as fossil fuels are replaced with green power generation.

3. New Technologies and Green Shoots of the Future

Various new technologies can help countries to be more effective at reducing their carbon footprints. One such technology is super-white paint that not only reflects solar energy but promotes cooling (3). This means that buildings in warm climates may not need to use air conditioning, greatly reducing the energy required for electricity generation in summer. Another promising technology is green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels in transportation, shipping, and aviation.

Methane that is currently vented from depleted oil wells can be capped, resulting in a substantial decrease in greenhouse gases. Instead of being a potent pollutant, this methane could be used to generate electricity, thereby reducing the fossil fuels needed for conventional generation.

With many such technologies implemented, the herders can work together to restore the commons of the atmosphere. This drama need not be a tragedy.