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Tackling Climate Crisis Can Strengthen Democracy and Our Economy

Free market democracies are leading the green innovation charge, says UBC political scientist.

Max Cameron 2 Mar 2015TheTyee.ca

Max Cameron teaches political science at the University of British Columbia, where he is the director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions.

Robust scientific consensus tells us human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are at their highest point in history. This is changing the atmosphere and oceans, reducing ice and snow, raising sea levels and causing extreme and unpredictable weather.

To minimize widespread, irreversible and catastrophic effects, warming must be kept to within 2 C relative to pre-industrial levels. This might seem like a small number, but ask yourself: would you ignore a 2 C temperature increase in a child? Without new strategies to reduce emissions, we are heading for a 4 C warming over the next century -- and higher in Canada. The planet, a complex living system, is developing a potentially fatal fever.

The good news is that feasible policy options are within our grasp. They include cap-and-trade, carbon taxes, investments in renewable energy, green technology and infrastructure, and wiser lifestyle choices. These options are already being adopted in many parts of the country. But change hinges on the deeper problem of governance. Can we solve climate change within our current political systems? Or, as we brace for another federal election campaign in 2015, will Canada persist in the divisive, zero-sum partisan politics that enables climate denial and inaction?

Democratic politicians have short time horizons that make it difficult for them to see beyond election cycles. Competitive elections create incentives for candidates to offer short-term benefits at the expense of the longer-term public good. Hyper-partisanship intensifies these pressures. Candidates also need money, which gives corporations considerable influence. Just as the need to be re-elected can make politicians myopic, the need to maximize shareholder value can compel corporations to pursue short-term profits over longer-term sustainability.

One might conclude that markets and democracy are incompatible with the future of the planet. But some market-oriented democracies are leading the way.

Germany, Sweden and Denmark have invested in renewable energy infrastructure and energy efficiency, reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. Ontario has followed the German example, and has phased out coal. Brazil, a leader in ethanol, has also made progress, reducing deforestation in the Amazon. California has introduced cap-and-trade, overcoming substantial business opposition. British Columbia's well-designed and revenue-neutral carbon tax has set a global standard.

Three critical political lessons emerge from these successes.

First, action on climate change is a lot easier with a broad, cross-partisan consensus. Environmental parliamentarians and social movements are necessary, but within the partisan arena of electoral politics, enlightened conservatism is also critical. Polls show that many conservatives in the United States and Canada want action on climate change.

Listen to scientists

Second, governments must be willing to insulate science and evidence-based policy from partisan calculations. Politicization of science and muzzling expertise undermines the ability of democratic institutions to grapple with complex problems. We need to reconvene and heed the advice of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and use other participatory innovations to get emissions reduction at all levels of government.

Third, states must work with (and sometimes cajole) businesses to make the investments that enable longer-term sustainable prosperity. This is where European social democracies like Sweden and Germany have an edge. In countries like Canada and the U.S., governments have promoted competitiveness at all costs (often by signing trade agreements that limit the ability of governments to protect the environment). We need incentives, regulations and tax measures to guide market forces toward a more sustainable future.

This requires long-term, democratic, public-private co-operation. All incentives for exploiting fossil fuels should be phased out, and public resources (including pension funds, endowments and government subsidies) should be reinvested in the job-creating renewable energy sector. We must also create (or maintain) strict limits on corporate financing of politics.

Taken together, these lessons suggest that action on climate action can enhance our democracy and expand opportunities for economic growth. The economy is a subset of the environment, which imposes limits on growth, consumption and waste. If we assume the role of the state is to foster sustained growth, it must promote innovation leading to prosperity within the natural constraints of the environment. It is not due to altruism that European social democracies have reduced their reliance on fossil fuels, but rather an astute recognition of what the future holds -- for all of us.

A clear majority of the Canadian public is ready for a truly progressive-conservative-green politics. Such a politics would recognize that climate change is not only the greatest threat to our planet, but also an unprecedented opportunity to choose a sustainable path to prosperity with a deeper and higher quality of democracy.

The Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions has partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation to hold a public event, Against the Odds: How Democracies can Solve Climate Change on March 2 at the Simon Fraser University Segal Building in Vancouver. For more information, click here. Tyee executive editor David Beers and reporter Geoff Dembicki are among the moderators.  [Tyee]

Read more: Energy, Politics

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