Everything should have a separate emissions price tag

We are SaveClimate.Earth - a non profit organization for sustainable economy.

We are fighting to resolve the frustrating climate change stalemate. While current policies are more than discouraging and ineffective, we have developed the model of the ECO climate currency. The concept introduces a parallel resource currency – a highly practical, realistic and socially just way out of our climate crisis.  Many current approaches are focus on taxation measures. Taxes, however, are passed down to consumers, merely increasing the already high cost of living. Taxes also do not limit CO2 emissions quickly and reliably enough. And time is running out for us!

To meet climate targets, we need a reliable, transparent rationing of the amount of carbon emissions humanity can still afford. Hence, a complementary CO2 currency ECO (Earth Carbon Obligation), which makes it possible to clearly trace the ecological footprint of a given product or service, adjusting the price on a polluter-pays basis. Every citizen has the right to spend his or her carbon allowance individually. The ECO allowance is distributed monthly, an equal amount per person. This is our basic ecological income. Everyone can choose how they spend their personal emissions quota and how to integrate climate protection into their life. 

With consumer pressure increasing, the industry automatically converts to climate-friendly processes. The new, rationed CO2 currency provides transparency. We ask for products and services that leave a smaller ecological footprint. The administrative effort is minimal, regulated by a single fiscal adjustment screw at the neck of the entire system – by the volume control of the resource currency and by the state-supervised and controlled extraction of fossil fuels coal, oil and gas. The ECO flows in a closed circulatory system, directly reflecting the ecological footprint, i.e. the amount of fossil fuels of all products and services you buy.  The ECO includes all steps in the value chain: from raw material extraction and production, to transport and marketing to the finished product and ultimately to you as a final consumer. Even unused ECOs can be traded against national currency on the climate exchange.

 In order to stop climate change, we must not exceed the CO2 budget! We are calling for a rationed CO2 currency,

the ECO (Earth Carbon Obligation) as an ecological basic income for all. Individual climate accounts record the emissions of our personal consumption and thus, effectively limit CO2.

The model of the ECO climate currency is much more effective than CO2 taxation because it is:

• fair, every citizen receives the same emission budget - your basic ecological income.
• holistic, including both the polluter pays principle and the social system as a whole.
• smart, because it takes a minimum of administrative effort, circulating from the bottleneck of the entire value chain. All that is needed is a single fiscal adjustment screw - currency volume control which ultimately regulates fossil fuel production volume (coal, oil and gas).
• uncomplicated and easy to integrate into existing market-based processes. The ECO price of products and services is automatically determined by market-based mechanisms within a sustainable, closed circular system.
• effective. Industries will react immediately to consumer pressure, demanding climate-friendly products and environmentally friendly production processes.
• transparent, making all the costs of our ecological footprint visible. With the newly created CO2 currency, we can see how much our personal consumption is burdening the environment. Responsibility for changing consumer behaviour is returned to the citizen. 
• comprehensive including all instances of value creation, right down to the smallest screw.
• tolerant, clear CO2 limits apply to everyone while allowing maximum personal freedom of choice. Every citizen knows how to integrate climate protection into their lives. 

In addition, the ECO reduces the wealth gap, even beyond national borders. The environmental crisis cannot socially isolated. People who sell their surplus ECO will have a new, additional source of income. Polluters will have to pay for excessive emissions, non-polluters earn money. The ECO also brings about more social justice. Last but not least, ECO also increases planning security for the industry. Eventually and logically, the emission of methane, as a particularly climate-damaging gas in conjunction with meat mass production, will also be integrated into the ECO SYSTEM. 

With this petition, we call on the European Union, together with its representative institutions: the EU Commission, Parliament and Council, to implement this concept, ergo, the ECO within the EU. The European Union  should lead the way with a strong multilateral alliance, involving other countries diplomatic channels. We need this cashless parallel currency  ECO to represent our actual carbon footprint. After all, each thing has two prices, one economic and one ecological. These two values do not necessarily correspond. A product can be economically viable but cause great damage to the environment.

Instead of eco-taxes, we advocate a fair, consistent and targeted climate policy. In line with the motto 'equal rights for all', we call for a uniform per capita distribution of emissions – the carbon resource currency, ECO. The basis of this petition and the Alternative Climate Concept is the polluter pays principle, quantified with an actual price.

THE FOLLOWING CONCRETE MEASURES MUST BE IMPLEMENTED:

• Establish a global greenhouse gas emission threshold generated by a multinational scientific expert panel.
• Calculate the per capita ration within the maximum allowable greenhouse gas quota.
• Introduce the resource currency ECO, which realistically quantifies the climate impact of our consumption.
• The additional pricing of ECO on every product and service, rendering a solid, understandable ecological footprint for all consumer products.
• Distribute the ECO evenly as a basic ecological income, based on per capita calculations.
• Installing an individual, separate ECO climate account.
• Establish a supranational global climate bank to manage climate accounts.
• Establish a supranational trading platform for private ECO trading.
• Adapt foreign trade with non-ECO countries through international trade laws.
• Appoint the United Nations as administrator of the earth's ecological assets.

The ECO in a nutshell. Your individual greenhouse gas account records precisely how much fossil fuels ( carbon emissions) your consumer habits cost. The system we propose centrally determines just how much CO2 the earth can tolerate at a given time and distributes this amount equally among all citizens. The amount is then translated into ECO. Any product or service is labelled twice – the ECO price and the euro price (in the EU).  Then, it’s up to you how you spend your ECOs. Should your consumer practices exceed your ECO ration, you must buy more. Should your consumer practices use few ECOS, you can sell the surplus and earn money with them. You have the choice. We all know we must protect our natural resources, including the air we breathe. Responsible management of greenhouse gas emissions is essential. All the same, responsible consumer habits are a choice we should have. It is important for us to say that the issue of climate change should not be about blame. Guilt in the sense of "...your consumption is worse than my consumption..." Nobody should feel offended...Since we all live within the system that created the current climate crisis, climate change cannot be separated from social justice. A climate currency for us, the smallest link in the chain with the most consumer power, can change industrial production processes in an extremely short time. We can adapt our purchasing power because we know, we see what our products cost the environment. Supply meets demand. It’s as simple as that. 

Help us to distribute the climate-friendly CO2 consumption fairly.

Support our appeal to the EU to introduce the carbon resource currency ECO.

Many thanks for this!

The team of

SaveClimate.Earth e.V.