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Carbon trading is the trading of greenhouse gas emission rights. The emission of greenhouse gases is first quantified, and emission indicators are allocated to various entities. Excessive emissions need to purchase carbon emission rights from other entities. In this way, companies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions can obtain additional benefits, and those who emit excessive emissions need to bear additional costs.
A similar institutional design is necessary for energy consumption, as the earth has its energy limits . In addition, because energy is conserved, the so-called consumption is only converted into other forms, and the energy utilization rate is less than 100%, and the unnecessary dissipation is usually a negative externality.
If carbon emissions and energy consumption are regarded as a quantification of an aspect of an entity’s impact on the environment, that is, as a quantification of externalities, can we create a better society by rewarding positive externalities and punishing negative externalities Woolen cloth?
Distribution according to needs is a communist dream, but how to avoid eating more and taking more? If it is only based on the high degree of self-consciousness of social members, it can only be a utopia, and there must be corresponding institutional arrangements. Regarding the management system of externalities, I think it is a feasible way, starting from carbon emissions, energy consumption, water, and food. Everyone has a basic quota that is enough to survive. If additional resources are needed, they need to pay extra. Make an effort to offset the negative externalities you generate.
I found that the concept of externality is expanded to the karma that the Buddhists talk about. Those who do evil karma are punished, and those who do good karma are rewarded. There is no need to seek after birth, and the world is a pure land.
Quantify externalities and develop ecological agriculture
The biggest difference between ecological agriculture and industrialized agriculture, which generally uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is the different impact on the environment and people. Ecological agriculture produces positive externalities, including soil, water quality, biodiversity improvement, and harmless organic food. Among them, organic food is a compensation for ecological agriculture, but other positive externalities have not been compensated. Likewise, agricultural non-point source pollution caused by chemical fertilizers and pesticides has not been punished.
This is also the reason why ecological agriculture struggled in the first place. Extra energy was invested and extra contributions were made, but no extra economic benefits were obtained.
If we can reasonably quantify the positive externalities of ecological agriculture and the negative externalities of modern agriculture, and value the externalities in the form of subsidies or reward and punishment systems, we can promote the ecological transformation of agriculture in a macro-strategy, and can also circumvent the ecological transformation of agriculture. Open WTO restrictions on agricultural subsidies, so as to revive traditional agriculture and save the dying villages and rural culture.
Preliminary ideas for specific implementation:
- With reference to carbon trading, the standard usage of pesticides and fertilizers per mu of farmland is set based on the environmental acceptable standard. If the amount exceeds, an additional environmental tax will be charged, and if the amount is lower, environmental subsidies can be received. The relationship between amount and usage can be linear or non-linear. It is necessary to comprehensively consider the impact on the environment, policy orientation and implementation difficulty.
- Transaction fee issues. On the premise of scale. Ideally, take the village collective as the unit, supervise each other internally, and take the purchase data of pesticides and fertilizers and the data of soil and water testing as the reference.
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