"What is your opinion regarding compulsory green energy purchases?
China's top legislature Tuesday discussed a legal amendment to require
electricity grid companies to buy all the power produced by renewable energy
generators. "
One of the participants posted the following comment:
"I believe in democracy and capitalism. I do not want more government and more
mandates for anyone! In my opinion, compulsory green energy purchases is a bad
idea. Instead of mandates, green energy must stand on its own because of the
value it brings to the individual, the business and the world."
This is my answer: democracy and capitalism are great. However, equal opportunity and a level playing field is just as important and the field has not been levelled for years. When businesses make millions of dollars in profit while dumping their solid, liquid and gaseous waste without accounting for it into landfills, rivers and the air, that is not capitalism. It is abuse of opportunity. It is wrong. It is injustice. This took place and in many cases is still taking place in the US and in many other places. Energy companies, large industry, utilities, are polluting, and transferring negative external costs to you and all of us. Their pollution costs money, it is a heavy burden on the health system that is financed not by the polluter but by the public. These costs have NEVER been calculated into any tax as far as I know.
We must change this and yes, compulsory purchasing of clean energy, incentives for clean energy, carbon taxes, cap and trade, polluter pays taxes and any other tool will do just this. It will force industry that uses a lot of energy or produces a lot of waste, to invest in industry that has a positive impact on the environment, i.e. renewable energy, and it will make doing business that is bad for the environment much more expensive, as it should be.
Capitalism does have room in this environment, it just needs some guidance, governmental and, more importantly, public demand from government do implement this guidance.
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