Social Preconditions and Scenarios of Green Transition
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Director of Climate Change Policy Group and Lecturer at Cambridge University
It is high time Estonia understood that the climate crisis is a global problem and not a local debate that can be used to serve your own interests.
How and why is it a global problem? Carbon dioxide molecules are distributed evenly around the globe regardless from which chimney or car tailpipe they were released into the air. The number of such molecules has increased by one and a half times compared to 150 years ago when we began to use coal to produce energy.
Therefore, it comes as a surprise that, before the elections, local climate debates were held on topics such as “Who decides what will happen to our climate?” The climate system does not know anything of national borders and therefore no one is deciding in Estonia what will happen to our climate.
If we fail to understand who is affected by the green transition policy and how and what to do with the consequences, we will find ourselves in a situation where we will be facing two crises – the global climate crisis and a sunken economy and increasing poverty in Estonia.
Big countries have understood that a transition to a climate-friendly economy must focus on people. “No one is left behind” is one of the underlying principles of this process, and they are speaking about a fair transition. Changes must be made in such a way that people would retain their jobs, incomes, and personal dignity. It is necessary to have a well-thought-through plan and strategy. Politics should be built up on science that has been evaluated in terms of reliability.