The Challenges To Effective Climate Change Policy

Martin Wolf, writing in the Financial Times, is worried about the increasing concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.  The concentration is projected to double by the end of this century and the damages to our planet will be substantial.  This is something that we should be worried about but there are many roadblocks to effective actions that might reduce carbon emissions.  Wolf lists all of the major challenges that need to be overcome and each is formidable.  As a whole, the challenges come down to single factor that must be overcome.  We can't expect people to endure privations in order to deal with a moral obligation that we have to future generations.  The challenge is to develop a vision of well-being, that we might strive to realize,  that is not dependent upon increasing consumption of fossil fuels.