Jaccard's Citizen's Guide to Climate Success

Constraints

Strategies for Countries

Global Dominance of Fossil Fuels

Lack of Global Governance

Corporations derive profit from them

Countries derive income from them

Employees get income from them

Countries that unilaterally restrict activities of FFcos will get complaints from Customer Corps, Employees and Consumers

Focus on economic sectors less vulnerable to internaional competition

Transportation

Buildings

Low energy intensive sectors

Agriculture

Forestry

REALLY? low energy?

BIG TICKET

Strategies for Country Blocs

Introduce (a Bloc-wide Carbon Tax OR Emissions Trading Scheme) AND Import Carbon Tariff

Strategies for Citizens

Focus on efforts that are strategically effective ie BOTH have large effect AND are politically possible

Be aware of helpful trends

Accelerating Climate Change is making it harder to deny the urgency AND the forces driving it

The declining cost of renewable generation AND transportation technologies

Solar PV

Wind

Batteries

Electric Vehicles

growing recognition of co-benefits of rapid de-carbonisation in developing countries - especially better Air Quality

Chinese global leadership in all the above is becoming an attractive model for other Global South countries

Increasing numbers of middle class in Global North paying a premium to switch to renewable energy and electric vehicles

more switch following example

As individuals switch this puts more focus on harder-to-transform sectors

Become more analytical about politicians' actions (as opposed to what they say)

Are measures in place to phase out all fossil fuels?

Are measures in place to phase out petrol & diesel vehicles?

Challenge your firmly held beliefs by reading the arguments of opponents
(be a scientist - not a lawyer)

use of nuclear

use of biofuels

the drive for energy efficiency

importance of carbon pricing

Is there an electorally acceptable alternative?

could there be a regulatory regime that managed environmental impacts, to allow use for harder-to-transform sectors eg long-haul trucking, essential air travel?

might there be some circumstances where it might be allowed subject to appropriate disposal and oversight regimes?

Might this drive be exploited by the fossil fuel industry, and how might this be countered?

OK SO WHICH?