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The world won’t be a greener place until it’s a fairer one

(The Guardian, 13 Apr 2021) Action on the climate crisis must come with a social contract to protect the poor and vulnerable.

As a climate policy researcher, I am often asked: what is the biggest obstacle to decarbonisation? My answer has changed profoundly over the last couple of years. I used to point to the lack of affordable green technologies and an absence of political will. Today, I point to something else. Something less tangible, but possibly more challenging: the absence of a green social contract.

The green revolution is already unfolding, driven by a stunning reduction in the cost of green technologies and by a global momentum for climate neutrality by the mid-century. So, if cheaper green technology and an unprecedented political green ambition are rapidly converging, what could go wrong? Unfortunately, the situation is not as simple as it seems. Decarbonisation will reshape our economies and our lifestyles. Nothing will be left untouched in the process: the green world will be profoundly different from the one we know today.

But such a radical transformation also raises questions about who should bear the cost of climate action, both within and between countries. The cost of climate action can not disproportionately fall on the most vulnerable, exacerbating inequality. Climate action should be designed in a way that improves social equality. And this is precisely what a new green social contract should be about.

The French experience with the gilets jaunes – Yellow Vests – movement represents the clearest example of the perils and political headwinds that governments worldwide face as they try to wean their citizens off fossil fuels. The French government was right to introduce a price on carbon in transportation in 2018. But it would have immediately translated into higher petrol and diesel prices, hitting hardest people living outside French cities who were already feeling the pain of stagnating incomes and lacking the same public transport options as urban residents.

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The Guardian, 13 Apr 2021: The world won’t be a greener place until it’s a fairer one