From The Times (UK), February 20:
Second World War-style rationing of petrol, household energy and meat could help to fight climate change, British scientists have recommended. Researchers from Leeds said that rationing would help countries to cut their carbon emissions “rapidly and fairly” even though it was often seen as an “unpalatable” option.
Making a comparison with the need to limit the consumption of certain goods as they grew scarce during the war, researchers noted that the idea of achieving this by increasing taxes was rejected in the 1940s because “the impact of tax rises would be slow and inequitable”. Their study, published in the journal Ethics, Policy & Environment, noted: “Rationing has been neglected as a climate change mitigation policy option.” It added that rationing was widely accepted in Britain during the conflict, explaining: “As long as there was scarcity, rationing was accepted, even welcomed or demanded.”
Rationing did not end in Britain until 1954, nine years after the end of the war.
The researchers said: “Rationing is often seen as unattractive, and therefore not a viable option for policy-makers. It is important to highlight the fact that this was not the case for many of those who had experienced rationing. It is important to emphasise the difference between rationing itself and the scarcity that rationing was a response to. Of course, people did welcome the end of rationing, but they were really celebrating the end of scarcity, and celebrating the fact that rationing was no longer necessary.”
The paper notes, however, that people may “not accept rationing when there is an abundance of resources available”. The researchers argue that, as a first step, governments would need to regulate sectors such as the oil industry, with the importing of fossil fuels “banned or restricted” in certain areas. This would create a scarcity of fossil fuels, with rationing then introduced to “manage the scarcity”, they explain....
....MUCH MORE
Here is the press release from the University of Leeds: "Rationing: a fairer way to fight climate change?"
Here's the paper, "Rationing and Climate Change Mitigation", open access at Taylor & Francis Online.
And in other global warming news:
January 2021: Investing—In Greenhouse Gas World Bill Gates Sees Bright Future For Private Jets
February 2023: 'I'm part of the solution': Bill Gates says he'll keep using private jets, campaigning on climate change
