I’ll Do It If You Do It
What are we, a bunch of grade schoolers? Regardless of your stance on climate change, one thing I think we can all agree on is that cutting emissions that pollute our air is a good thing. If you don’t, then you need to visit a larger city where air pollution is a problem. So, if we all agree on that, then what is the big fight between industrialized countries over carbon reduction targets? This “We’ll do it if you will” attitude is so juvenile. The whole Copenhagen deal is becoming a circus. Instead, why don’t countries just say, “We don’t care if you want to do it, we want to be a leader.” Take the initiative and show others how it can be done and it won’t be long before others follow suit.
Tags: carbon emissions, environment, pollution
October 26th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I suspect It is financial. There is always a cost associated with cutting emissions. As long as everybody is paying the same cost (I’ll do it if you do it”), the playing field remains largely the same balance.
However, if one company voluntarily incurs the cost while others do not, that company has just yielded a competitive advantage to the others.
Instead of it not being long before others follow suit, in today’s world of razor thin margins it may not be long before the others are bidding on the (former) leader’s assets.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
That would be true if it were corporations but in this case, it is countries. Which of course doesn’t negate the financial aspect but it does diminish it considerably. And, countries do tend to want to be like the “leader” and I think in this environmental issue, even more so since it is a political hot bed.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Countries are made up of people. People operate businesses. Therefore regulations and policies adapted by countries which cost businesses money to implement have an effect on the bottom line. We see it every day. Try buying products made only in the USA. You can’t, because people in other countries can make stuff cheaper. Being the leader in emission reduction would be a great selling point, but would it be enough to gain a competitive edge over price? Nothing is ever simple.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
True Mike. In this case, I do think it is much more of a political game because they are talking about target drops in emissions, meaning they commit to try to get there. With all the fuss about climate change, one major economic power deciding to set a target regardless of what anyone else decides to do would put tremendous pressure on other countries on the political front. They almost would have no choice because the outrage could be political suicide for the leaders in charge. Is it more complicated than that? Yes. But in a nutshell, that is how I see it.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:31 am
Nice blog under a nice heading!… With all the fuss about climate change, one major economic power deciding to set a target regardless of what anyone else decides to do would put tremendous pressure on other countries on the political front. thnx for sharing…