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Comment by MangoToupe | Hacker News Reader

Short of the wealthy paying the poor to not use oil and gas, that's obviously not gonna happen. What's plan b?

That seems like a cynical though broadly accurate description of carbon pricing, which are in place around the world and shown to be one of the more effective interventions.

They are technically also paying the rich (and crucially the companies that supply things for both the rich and poor) to not use oil and gas too.

I mean directly. I have little faith in carbon pricing as anything but a grift.

if you don't price carbon, then emitting carbon is free (you just priced it at $0)

We simply don't have the market mechanisms to price carbon in any rational sense. Certainly not internationally.

If you mean across borders, than the EU CBAM is already driving the installation of renewables in countries outside the EU in advance of being priced next year.

India seems to be converting to solar without external pressure.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/indias-solar-boo...

That's because India has to. Domestic demands are huge and India's coal isn't very high in quality. Not to mention coal power is largely state-controlled and doesn't allow for much private frolicking.

It's quite the opposite situation than the US, where coal is extremely high-quality and private player participation is unrestricted.

Almost all new energy construction is non-coal. Coal has collapsed even here in the US, and the current administration is unlikely to seriously change the trajectory. Gas is increasing, but mostly here in the US, but production is dropping again.

> is setting the stage for a potential drop in annual coal-fired power output

I'm not holding my breath. I'm happy they saw a slight reduction in oil and gas use, though.

I suppose the alternative is making the alternatives cheaper. For example wind and solar for electricity are quite cheap.

Yes, it can happen.

Invest in whole house oxygen generators.

Any alternatives are way further into fantasy land than plan A.

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