Climate policies that require public sacrifice and limiting economic growth are doomed to failure. To succeed, policies to reduce emissions must promise real benefits and must help make clean energy cheaper.
This past year, the Indian government took two actions that help to illustrate which steps to decarbonize the global economy might work and which are unlikely to succeed.
In advance of the G20 Summit in Toronto last June, India proposed lifting a small fraction of its subsidies on kerosene, diesel, and petroleum, with the inevitable result being an increase in fuel prices for Indian consumers. What was the result of that price hike, which had the equivalent impact of a $30-per-ton carbon tax? Widespread riots and strikes. By the end of August, India’s government had decided to delay implementation of the reforms, due to political opposition.
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