this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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This is a necessary, but not sufficient, step towards stabilizing temperatures. Cheap renewables make it possible to displace fossil fuels, but don't actually do that unless we force it to happen.
snigger
The beauty of the market system is that you do not have to force it - it will happen by itself if there are no factors (like bad laws) preventing that.
First of all you have to force it in a way of subsidizing it until it becomes cheap. Many countries did that with solar and wind for 2-3 decades now.
Then secondly there are still many laws in place or policies that support the fossil-based industries, so action is still required to u leash the full potential renewables bring to the table
The first step is already done - it became cheaper. Agree on the second step, and you t is exactly what I wrote “like bad laws” in my post.
Ah, good ole "The free market will fix everything" approach.
It has yet to work. I'm not holding my breath hoping it'll fix it anytime soon.
Free market does not fix everything, but it does work when conditions are right. That is when it is actually free as in free competition, actually market with multiple players and customers and so on.
And it is already contributing significantly into CO2 reduction - lots of private money is invested into building up green based technologies, and this will only accelerate in future.
Hmm this is assuming the oil companies behave and take it laying down
The private money invested into green technologies has a lobby too. Right now it is smaller then the oil lobby, but with green technologies becoming cheaper the industry grows and that makes them stronger. At the same time the oil industry becomes weaker.
Stuff like banning combustion engine cars are worth lobbying for, when car companies make more money with evs for example. Banning gas boilers is a great thing, for manufacturers of heat pumps as well. There is a lot more like that and it really works international as money flows international. You see that in the EU right now. Due to the energy war with Russia fossil fuels got expensive and well green technologies did not. At the same time geopolitcs made passing enviromental laws a good idea at the time as well. So right now fossil fuel is in panic mode and financing far right parties, as the status quo is not working for them anymore.