Launch Date: Tuesday 13 May 2008
Press and Media information will be available starting Friday 9 May 2008
* * *
Goal: Sustainably Reduce Private CO2 Emissions
Welcome to the CO2-monitor pre-launch website.
For obvious confidentiality reasons, we present objectives and ideas, without technology or other specifics.
To learn more, do not hesitate to contact us:
Sascha NICK
CO2-monitor AG
+41 44 586 44 66
Vision: Empower citizens to make millions of smart decisions every day with a beneficial energy, environmental and climate impact
Tool: "Personal Global Warming Account" automatically provides up-to-date personalized information about CO2 emissions from vehicles, along with benchmarks and suggestions for improvement
Mechanism: 100% market-based, no regulation, no tax
Focus: initially automobiles, expanding to air travel and household energy
Energy and CO2 Emissions - a few more thoughts:
1. What is the biggest challenge regarding energy consumption today?
Probably the enormous gap between perception and reality: perception that energy is required for economic development (true) and that further development needs more energy... and the reality where, at least in the developed world, we have exceeded the level required for growth half a century ago! Today, we waste the vast majority of our energy. This is not only a philosophical problem: market failure in this area means that external costs (from pollution and global warming to geopolitical instability accentuated by the financing of unsavoury regimes) are not borne by individual users. There is little incentive to act.
2. Concretely, what does it mean to involve citizens in pollution reduction despite our "need" to increase our energy consumption?
Absolutely everything we do consumes energy. If you try to reduce consumption by regulation, you will have a lot of human creativity against you! Instead, we have to decide what we are trying to reach, then design a clever incentive, as well as good and easy-to-understand information to track progress.
Should we focus on limiting total energy consumption? No, why try to limit the use of sun or geothermal sources? Limit fossil fuels - as long as they cause external costs, at least!
How? Define your objective first. To slow global warming, according to climate experts, worldwide emissions of carbon dioxide need to decrease to a much lower level. That makes the right to emit one kilogram of CO2 both a scarce resource, and a public good, since it belongs collectively to all citizens. This collective ownership unfortunately represents a poor basis for action.
Now, distribute those CO2 rights equally to all citizens. Each person can use his/her rights; sell it; or buy whatever amount he/she need and is willing to pay. The total initially available is fixed, and the price of CO2 reflects supply and demand. Suddenly, there is a powerful incentive to save energy.
3. So we need a new regulation? Is this really possible in a reasonable time-frame?
Not only will any new regulation spur creative solutions against change, it is also slow and difficult to enact, since the regulator needs to think of everything in advance. A market-based mechanism is exactly the opposite: the lawmaker only needs to define the direction. Specific targets are set periodically, and most importantly, specific actions are decided daily by millions of informed, motivated and empowered citizens.
Politically, it is faster to agree on broad goals than trying to anticipate millions of individual decisions years in advance. This makes market mechanisms powerful. Still do not expect global warming to be solved in the next five years, unfortunately.
4. How does pollution reduction stimulate creativity?
By ensuring that individuals constantly think about energy. Beyond the obvious effect of raising prices (once you have spent your CO2 rights, you have to buy more), there is actually an element of fun, challenge, game - which motivates some people.
Just think of examples: why leave the lights on in the room you just left? Why use the "dinosaur" incandescent light wasting 95% of electricity? Why build cars with an average payload ratio of 4%? Why regulate the room temperature by overheating and opening the window? Why is the construction industry designed entirely around initial, not lifecycle costs? If energy is almost free, or someone else pays the external costs, the answer is surely quite different.
Technology is not the bottleneck, nor the solution - today we have absolutely everything we need to reach our goals rapidly. Our main constraints are the lack of attention to the problem, the lack of precise information on individual behaviour, and the lack of incentive.
5. Would this mechanism cover the full spectrum of personal activities?
Yes, gradually. After the automobile, we should add air travel and energy purchases, including heating oil, gas, electricity, municipal heating etc.
6. Why is "personal carbon account" better than a public tax?
Firstly, the precise CO2 emission target is always reached, since personal allowances are limited, and price will adjust to prevent overshooting. Carbon tax has an unpredictable effect, as oil price, weather, etc. influence energy consumption.
Secondly, the personalized information, the challenge to reach an individual target, the higher attention paid to one's energy behaviour, will become the primary factor for many people; for others this will be the price signal based on supply and demand.
Thirdly, hard-to-achieve international coordination is required for a tax to work properly. A market mechanism around a personal account allows for a lot more flexibility.
Fourthly, unless the CO2-tax proceeds can be returned to the population, a new tax is politically problematic.
7. If the pressure on pollution increases, but the energy consumption increases too, will consumers shift the burden of their pollution to energy producers?
This is how an efficient market should function, shifting resources, risk, benefits, etc. according to a transparent market mechanism, covering all major external costs. As long as this is ensured, paying someone else to solve your pollution problem will benefit to everyone - this is the very principle of trade.
8. Is this system affordable? It may be costly to set up and monitor. Who would monitor it? What's the incentive?
The monitoring market itself should attract competition and lead to lower prices. The main players should regularly be audited, technically & financially, to ensure credibility.
9. The EU is only part of the global energy consumption (and correlative pollution) growth. Should this system apply to Asia and the US too?
Eventually, yes! It is in Europe's interest to lead the way, not to instantly save the world, as it accounts for around 15% of worldwide carbon dioxide emissions, but to gain a competitive advantage, valuable experience and technology for a low-carbon world. China and India will need help once the time has come. Perhaps the US too? For European companies, this is a unique opportunity.
10. Can renewable energy provide enough resources to allow the switch to a low pollution way of life?
Yes, but only if we become energy-efficient first! Beyond efficiency in transportation, house heating, electricity, we need to take a hard look at consumerism, including buying habits, product life-span, etc.
While this is truly a long-term project, with the right players and the right involvement, genuine results are feasible by 2020. Ending our addiction to fossil fuels completely might take a few years longer.