Abstract
This paper reviews and analyses a decarbonization policy called the Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs) system developed by David Fleming. The TEQs system involves rationing fossil fuel energy use for a nation on the basis of either a contracting carbon emission budget or scarce fuel availability, or both simultaneously, distributing budgets equitably amongst energy-users. Entitlements can be traded to incentivize demand reduction and to maximize efficient use of the limited entitlements. We situate this analysis in the context of Joseph Tainter’s theory about the development and collapse of complex societies. Tainter argues that societies become more socio-politically and technologically ‘complex’ as they solve the problems they face and that such complexification drives increased energy use. For a society to sustain itself, therefore, it must secure the energy needed to solve the range of societal problems that emerge. However, what if, as a result of deep decarbonization, there is less energy available in the future not more? We argue that TEQs offers a practical means of managing energy descent futures. The policy can facilitate controlled reduction of socio-political complexity via processes of ‘voluntary simplification’ (the result being ‘degrowth’ or controlled contraction at the scale of the physical economy).
Highlights
In this paper we offer a new analysis of the policy of Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs), developed by David Fleming [1]
While this statement is subject to the same circumspection that we argue should apply to contrary findings, we contend that energy descent futures, which are presently marginalized [52], should be elevated from a peripheral concern to one that actively shapes the ways in which actors engage in energy transition praxis
In this paper we contended that there are three primary and overlapping reasons for TEQs to be regarded as a policy mechanism highly suited to reducing fossil fuel dependency in a managed, timely and equitable way: (1) Fossil fuels are finite and have declining EROI, in the foreseeable future humanity will be forced to manage with reduced net energy availability from fossil energy sources; (2) Tight carbon budget targets strongly indicate that humanity must leave fossil fuels even before their depletion enforces a post-carbon transition and (3) Human energy use drives the transformation of the physical world that is degrading planetary ecosystems, suggesting that sustainable modes of production and consumption may involve creating very different forms of societal organization that are far less energy dependent
Summary
In this paper we offer a new analysis of the policy of Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs), developed by David Fleming [1]. With the global material footprint of human societies already greatly exceeding what some investigators consider to be sustainable [9], the implication is that must the rate of fossil fuel use be reduced, but so must the total rate at which energy services affect changes in the biosphere, regardless of the primary energy source On this basis, we situate our analysis in relation to Joseph Tainter’s theory about the development and the collapse of complex societies [10]. The term ‘deintensification’ implies changes that generally result in closer proximity between producers and consumers of goods and services, both geographically and socially This will typically involve the emergence or reemergence of informal economies at the bio-regional, neighborhood, and household scales, where mostly local resources are used to provide for mostly local needs, at the expense of formal economic transactions and arrangements where global supply chains coalesce in complex and often energy-intensive ways [1]. We conclude with brief reflections on obstacles and challenges that lie in the way of TEQs (and other strategies for managing energy descent) being adopted
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