Column: Carbon cashback is sage climate solution

In 1833, British economist William F. Lloyd described a problem that today defines the climate crisis. In his “Two Lectures on the Checks to Population,” Lloyd explained how shared resources, such as a public pasture, or commons, can be ruined when individuals act in their own self-interest. This idea, later called the “tragedy of the commons” by Garrett Hardin, offers a powerful warning for how we treat our planet.

Lloyd’s example was simple. In a shared, unregulated (open-access) pasture, no one takes responsibility for maintaining it to ensure that it remains sustainable. When each individual adds more cattle to that pasture for greater personal gain, they degrade the land. Eventually, the pasture is overgrazed and destroyed, even though it was in everyone’s collective interest to preserve it. To prevent a disaster, there must be rules that restrain everyone.

Today, the Earth with its atmosphere is like that pasture. Individuals, countries and corporations emit greenhouse gases into the air for the sake of profits and convenience. Their actions have resulted in climate change, along with the costs associated with it, such as heat waves, droughts, and rising seas, which are borne by everyone.

The problem is structural. Those who emit greenhouse gases have little reason to reduce their emissions unless they are controlled or pushed by an external force. Fossil fuel companies that cut production risk losing market share to their competitors. Nations that tighten regulations fear that other nations will overtake them economically.

In an effort to take global collective action, 200 countries came together in 2015 to sign the Paris Agreement, which calls on the signatories to come up with emission targets so as to keep global warming below 2 C, and ideally 1.5 C. Yet we’re currently on track toward about 3 C. International pledges have not translated into sufficient action, and time is running out.

Here in Hawaii, we face the same dilemma. The state has set ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below 2005 levels in 2030 and 100% by 2045, consistent with the Paris Agreement. But we’re falling far short. Emissions remain stubbornly high instead of going down.

If Hawaii and other jurisdictions are to meet their targets, they must place a value on the environment. In other words, there needs to be a cost to pollute. A mix of strong policies must be passed in Hawaii. The most efficient mechanism, carbon cashback, should be included in the policy mix.

This policy would place a fee on fossil fuel pollution, which would encourage people and businesses to reduce consumption. But unlike a tax that disappears into the budget, the revenue would be distributed equally to all residents as a dividend. Most low- and moderate-income families would come out ahead, earning more from the dividend than they would pay in higher prices resulting from the pollution fee.

The carbon cashback bill, as was proposed in the state Legislature, is not just an economic reform — it’s a moral one. It puts a price on pollution, rewards responsible behavior and protects the most vulnerable. It’s the kind of smart, fair policy that directly addresses the tragedy of the commons. It has the important additional benefit that it addresses this issue in a progressive manner, unlike most mandates.

Implementing Carbon Cashback Hawaii would move much more rapidly toward independence from imported fossil fuels. It might help to influence national policy around carbon pricing, which would help to influence global carbon pricing.

If we fail to act, Lloyd’s prediction will come true. The shared resource, the Earth’s ecosystem, will degrade further and further so that it will become less and less livable for humans. But if we follow his logic, we also see the path forward. Collective action, achieved through laws, incentives, and cooperation, can preserve the commons for future generations. Hawaii’s Legislature must lead through stronger action.

Bobbie Best is a retired librarian and environmental activist; Helen Cox is chair of the Kauai Climate Action Coalition and co-lead of the Kauai chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby; Ruth Robison is a retired student adviser at the University of Hawaii-Hilo and member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Hawaii island.