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Also, the free market requires the actual damage to materialise before it gets factored into the decision making of participants. E.g. climate change effects ma
by hliyan 3y ago
Also, the free market requires the actual damage to materialise before it gets factored into the decision making of participants. E.g. climate change effects may eventually get factored into the energy markets, but by then, the damage would have been done.
- TulliusCicero 3y agoIt wouldn't factor in even then, because it's a classic externality. Polluters don't contribute individually to climate change just for themselves or their customers, they contribute -- each in a small way -- to the problem for everyone on the planet. If factory pollution was somehow isolated to just the factory or people buying things from that factory, instead of just going into everyone's air, regulation would be much less necessary, because in that case yes, consumer behavior would change. People wouldn't want smog inside their homes because they bought a new widget from a polluting manufacturer. This is the inherent problem with people complaining that they have the right to pollute with their cars or factories or what have you as an argument against regulation. The pollution doesn't just stay next to the person creating it! If someone invents a box that captures all the fumes that car puts off and localizes it to the car itself, then sure, pollute all you want.
- nickpp 3y agoThis is not true. Plenty of people already changed their consumer behavior due to Climate Change info. For example Solar deployment is quite impressive around the word even if it's not always the best strategy financially (governmental incentives included).