For most people, climate change is pretty much the only world-scale issue they’ve heard of. That makes it very important (in relative terms)
Suppose climate change were like air pollution: greenhouse gas emissions in New York made it hotter in New York but not in Shanghai, and greenhouse gas emissions in Shanghai made it hotter in Shanghai but not in New York. I don’t see how that would make it less important.
Local control seems very relevant to me, given our lack of powerful global governing institutions and other coordination mechanisms. In the localized-climate-change world, Shanghai may decide they’re willing to tolerate more climate change than NY is, in which case NY can just pay more to prevent it and then reap the benefits themselves.
Our world doesn’t have that option, which has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to real at-scale action on climate change for as long as I’ve been alive. Instead we have to deal with all the political history of every current and past-but-remembered political conflict anyone can possibly dig up to negotiate concessions from one another.
Suppose climate change were like air pollution: greenhouse gas emissions in New York made it hotter in New York but not in Shanghai, and greenhouse gas emissions in Shanghai made it hotter in Shanghai but not in New York. I don’t see how that would make it less important.
Local control seems very relevant to me, given our lack of powerful global governing institutions and other coordination mechanisms. In the localized-climate-change world, Shanghai may decide they’re willing to tolerate more climate change than NY is, in which case NY can just pay more to prevent it and then reap the benefits themselves.
Our world doesn’t have that option, which has been one of the biggest stumbling blocks to real at-scale action on climate change for as long as I’ve been alive. Instead we have to deal with all the political history of every current and past-but-remembered political conflict anyone can possibly dig up to negotiate concessions from one another.