‘If we fail to act now, the present moment may
merely be a preview of what is to come.’
The carbon economy amplifies racial, social and
economic inequities, creating a system that is fundamentally incompatible with
a stable future
Jeffrey
Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz, Mariana Mazzucato, Clair Brown, Indivar Dutta-Gupta,
Robert Reich, Gabriel Zucman and others
Tue 4 Aug
2020 14.09 BSTLast modified on Tue 4 Aug 2020 14.49 BST
From
deep-rooted racism to the Covid-19 pandemic, from extreme inequality to
ecological collapse, our world is facing dire and deeply interconnected
emergencies. But as much as the present moment painfully underscores the
weaknesses of our economic system, it also gives us the rare opportunity to
reimagine it. As we seek to rebuild our world, we can and must end the carbon
economy.
Even as
climate breakdown looms around the corner, the pressure to return to the old
carbon-based economy is real – and all the more dangerous, given the
fundamental instability of an economy rooted in injustice. Sources of
large-scale human suffering, such as crop failures, water shortages, rising
tides, wildfires, severe weather, forced migration and pandemics, go
hand-in-hand with a warming world. For example, exposure to airborne pollution
heightens the risk of complications from diseases like Covid-19, and
deforestation and rising temperatures make the emergence of future infectious
diseases more likely. When these consequences manifest, it is no accident that
they are disproportionately felt by communities of color, low-income
communities, the most vulnerable nations and peoples, and other historically
marginalized groups.
It is Black
people in America, for instance, who bear some of the highest rates of exposure
to polluted air. The carbon economy amplifies and begets racial, social and
economic inequities, creating a system that is fundamentally incompatible with
a stable future. If we fail to act now, the present moment may merely be a
preview of what is to come, as we are forced into ever-more-painful situations
and tradeoffs. It is naive, moreover, to imagine that we can simply nudge the
fossil fuel industry – an industry that has lied about climate change for
decades, actively opposed serious climate solutions and continues to plan for a
fossil fuel-dependent future – into good behavior.
This moment creates an opportunity to bring
about a better future for ourselves and our children
Instead, we
should recognize that the present moment creates an opportunity to bring about
a better future for ourselves and our children. By taking on the carbon
economy, we can begin charting a pathway towards economic recovery while
building a fairer, more sustainable world in the process.
Governments
must actively phase out the fossil fuel industry. Bailouts and subsidies to big
oil, gas and coal companies only further delay the essential energy transition,
distorting markets while locking us into a future we cannot afford. Instead, a
coordinated phaseout of exploration for and extraction of carbon resources
allows governments to redeploy funds towards green technology, infrastructure,
social programs and good jobs, spurring an economic transition that benefits
people and the planet.
Institutions
of financial power must end their fossil fuel investments and funding. When our
largest banks, most influential investors and most prestigious universities
place bets on the success of the fossil fuel industry, they provide it with the
economic and social capital necessary to maintain the dangerous status quo.
Instead, these institutions should divest from fossil fuel companies and end financing
of their continued operations while reinvesting those resources in a just and
stable future.
People must
build political power to advocate for a fairer economic system. If we attempt
an economic rebuilding whose guiding principle is a return to “business as
usual” we will simply substitute one crisis for another. Instead, we must
recognize that when crises strike, the disaster amplifies along society’s fault
lines, and that when we don’t prepare for disasters, the costs of inaction fall
most heavily on the most vulnerable. A green recovery can and must uplift those
who need it most, at home and around the world, creating a more resilient and
regenerative society in the process.
By
achieving a large-scale economic transformation that dismantles the carbon
economy and brings about a greener world, we have an opportunity to begin the
process of economic recovery while working to undo the injustices at the heart
of our modern system. As the undersigned experts in economics, we call on our
policymakers to recognize the role that meaningful climate action has to play
in rebuilding our world – to recognize that a healthy economy and society
require a healthy planet.
This letter
has been signed by more than 100 economists. See the full list of signatories
here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tLtEZQ7ogI7C0s0wlkAZa9ade164BpeT19rWQJj0ucE/edit
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