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If you were to recommend one policy action to address the climate crisis, what would it be?
Juan Jose Alava studies and conducts modelling to understand the interactions of climate change and pollutants in marine ecosystems and food webs.
“I would push for a policy action fostering and implementing the production and use of green, cleaner and more sustainable energy based on a long-term, oil-free economy to reduce our CO2 emissions and carbon footprint. These changes can proactively start by changing our food consumption preferences and transportation behaviour, from the individual level through to sustainable communities, industrial transitions and bold decisions by the government.”
Simon Donner is an interdisciplinary climate scientist who studies how climate change effects society and the environment.
“Climate change is a collective action problem that won’t be solved by any one policy. But if I can only choose one for Canada or the U.S., it would be to create proportional voting systems, such that every person in each country has an equal say in the federal leadership. Most people in North America want climate action—our governments should reflect that.”
Kai Chan is a sustainability scientist, trained in ecology, policy and ethics who strives to understand how social-ecological systems can be transformed.
“Addressing the climate crisis appropriately will require a wholesale transformation of our economy, which will take a bevy of policies carefully designed to interact synergistically. Key pieces include substantial carbon pricing (more than $100/tonne), eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, and zoning and infrastructure investments that create easy compact communities.
However, effective and efficient climate policy doesn’t necessarily sell politically, so what we need is politically enticing climate policies. I’d suggest establishing a credible national system of greenhouse gas accounting and offsets, and giving individuals and corporations tax credits for being climate-neutral. This way, substantial money is leveraged for climate action at little cost to the government, without the flavour of a ‘tax’, all while deftly encouraging changes in business and lifestyles.”