CAP, Personalize and Trade
The idea of this climate concept is based on the Cap, Personalize and Trade principle of CO2e emissions. It describes the introduction of a rationed carbon re-source currency ECO (Earth Carbon Obligation) as a free basic ecological income for all. This budget of CO2e emissions will be quantified at a multinational level, based on a scientific expert model, and shared equitably among all. The total volume will be verified cyclically and adjusted flexibly. The parallel currency ECO enables the pricing of each item with a separate emissions price tag. This makes the ecological footprint of our CO2e consumption quantitatively visible, because the ECO includes all emissions that occur along the value chain. This actual amount of CO2e from fossil fuels (and other climate-impacting gases) that a product or service requires can now be accounted for on a cause-based basis. This gives the atmosphere as an environmental good a material value. Thanks to the newly gained transparency, each of us now has the personal freedom to decide what to spend our rationed quota of emissions on and how to integrate climate protection into our lives.
The basic principle of this alternative climate concept is the assumption of the finiteness of ecosystems as a sink for our fossil climate gas emissions and the equal right of every human being to (exploit) a fairly rationed, ecologically compatible quantity of climate gases.
In this context, the atmosphere represents a common property. The limited nature of this resource for carbon uptake (sink) is mapped by an equally limited carbon resource currency ECO, which is consistently linked to the purchase of consumer goods and services. The damage caused by climate gas emissions is currently not priced in at all. Accordingly, climate protection also means that every consumption, according to the polluter pays principle, must be quantified with its actual resource price, for which, however, the conventional currency systems in euros, dollars, yen, ... are unsuitable, since the money supply of the established currencies can be expanded if necessary.
The additional currency ECO stands for the obligation to extract and ultimately burn only enough carbon in the form of fossil primary energy sources (coal, oil and gas) through appropriate regulations (rationing) to stop global warming. The price of this complementary
currency depends on the polluter-pays principle, on the intensity of the consumption of fossil resources coupled with the production of the goods or the provision of services, and on the associated emissions (source). The advantage of a climate trade that is broken down to the smallest unit in the market, namely the end consumer, lies in its enormously fast control potential. This is because the change in the purchasing behavior of the large mass of consumers makes the industry's production processes more environmentally compatible. The concept also provides answers to the questions of the necessary state control, as well as to the import and export of goods and fossil energy sources with third countries that are not yet integrated into the ECO resource currency system. It also shows why it is conceptually superior to taxation and the current EU emissions certificate trading system.
The limits of renunciation
In Germany, the average CO2 consumption per person/year is around 9.7 tons. In order to meet the climate targets, we need to get below 2 tons. This
corresponds to a reduction of about 80%. It is obvious that this can't be mastered with restriction and renunciation.
However, the current price increase measures of politics mainly rely on renunciation - but with renunciation we do not create realistic options for action so that we consumers can consume in a
climate-friendly way. This will only work if the manufacturing processes of our consumption generally become greener and more climate-friendly.
The idea: an ecological basic income for all citizens
Every global citizen has an equal right to emit climate gases through their consumption. These emissions must be quantified and rationed, as the atmosphere can only tolerate a certain upper limit. Accordingly, each citizen is given a specific, equal environmentally sustainable quota of personal emissions that is made available in the form of an ECO budget for his or her consumption. The amount of this tradable budget is determined by a committee for a certain period of consideration - based on current scientific simulations and recommendations. The ecological basic income thus causes a change in our consumption behavior, as we strive to conserve this limited personal budget.
Socio-ecological transformation of our economy and society
The system-immanent link between business and politics thwarts its actual mandate to act sensibly and with foresight for the benefit of all people. A vicious circle arises from the intertwining of different conflicting goals between ecological awareness and economic constraints, the diffusion of responsibility and the dichotomy between self-interest and morality. That is why it is so important to decouple the solution of the problem from all these different, sometimes short-term particular interests and to establish a system that, according to the polluter pays principle, takes into account the smallest unit on the market, namely the consumer with his enormous steering effect. A system that places the power and responsibility for climate protection completely in the hands of all citizens and in which market-based laws function in harmony with ecological sustainability.
(Reading time for the detailed climate concept is about 25-30 minutes).
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