David Hall
@dvdhll.bsky.social
• Climate Policy Director, Toha Network.
• Senior Lecturer in Climate Action, AUT.
https://www.toha.network/ | https://academics.aut.ac.nz/david.hall
• Senior Lecturer in Climate Action, AUT.
https://www.toha.network/ | https://academics.aut.ac.nz/david.hall
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The Transition(s) Lab
A place for understanding and shaping transitions
the-transitions-lab.ghost.io
November 24, 2025 at 9:27 PM
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What is most obnoxious about this logic is that it obscures decisions we actually need to make about, say, demand management *within* socio-technical transitions, circular economy, mining regulation, etc.
And no not everyone suffers from "carbon tunnel vision"; see www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/w...
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And no not everyone suffers from "carbon tunnel vision"; see www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/w...
fin
Chapter 5: Demand, services and social aspects of mitigation
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www.ipcc.ch
May 28, 2025 at 5:24 AM
What is most obnoxious about this logic is that it obscures decisions we actually need to make about, say, demand management *within* socio-technical transitions, circular economy, mining regulation, etc.
And no not everyone suffers from "carbon tunnel vision"; see www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/w...
fin
And no not everyone suffers from "carbon tunnel vision"; see www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/w...
fin
A stark version of this fallacy comes from William Rees. Two options: Track 1 and Track 2, both of which are so rapacious & repugnant that we should surrender to Rees's conclusion that "a major ‘population correction’ is inevitable". He puts Earth's "carrying capacity" at 100m to 3bn people.
May 28, 2025 at 5:24 AM
A stark version of this fallacy comes from William Rees. Two options: Track 1 and Track 2, both of which are so rapacious & repugnant that we should surrender to Rees's conclusion that "a major ‘population correction’ is inevitable". He puts Earth's "carrying capacity" at 100m to 3bn people.
The bad criticism at stake is a version of the either/or fallacy.
Either we continue burning fossil fuels, or we launch into a hypercapitalist energy transition which drives ever-increasing consumption of energy & minerals.
Actually, however, there are a multitude of possible energy transitions.
Either we continue burning fossil fuels, or we launch into a hypercapitalist energy transition which drives ever-increasing consumption of energy & minerals.
Actually, however, there are a multitude of possible energy transitions.
May 28, 2025 at 5:24 AM
The bad criticism at stake is a version of the either/or fallacy.
Either we continue burning fossil fuels, or we launch into a hypercapitalist energy transition which drives ever-increasing consumption of energy & minerals.
Actually, however, there are a multitude of possible energy transitions.
Either we continue burning fossil fuels, or we launch into a hypercapitalist energy transition which drives ever-increasing consumption of energy & minerals.
Actually, however, there are a multitude of possible energy transitions.
i myself make my own marmite to put into my kids’ sandwiches
March 4, 2025 at 5:48 AM
i myself make my own marmite to put into my kids’ sandwiches
The best substitute I’ve heard is “threshold of failure”.
February 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
The best substitute I’ve heard is “threshold of failure”.
No not necessarily. Transformation inherently less appealing to conservatives than progressives, almost definitionally so. I suppose I was talking more about the relation to one’s interests, how to navigate *that*. But it’s a multidimensional challenge as you’ve rightly argued!
January 14, 2025 at 3:17 AM
No not necessarily. Transformation inherently less appealing to conservatives than progressives, almost definitionally so. I suppose I was talking more about the relation to one’s interests, how to navigate *that*. But it’s a multidimensional challenge as you’ve rightly argued!
On why burden-sharing is the wrong framing, see @mattomildenberger.bsky.social & @aklin.bsky.social's paradigm-shifting paper: direct.mit.edu/glep/article...
Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma: Why Distributive Conflict, Not Collective Action, Characterizes the Politics of Climate Change
Abstract. Climate change policy is generally modeled as a global collective action problem structured by free-riding concerns. Drawing on quantitative data, archival work, and elite interviews, we rev...
direct.mit.edu
January 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
On why burden-sharing is the wrong framing, see @mattomildenberger.bsky.social & @aklin.bsky.social's paradigm-shifting paper: direct.mit.edu/glep/article...
... but. The New Zealand Government is still largely trapped in a paradigm of climate action as "burden-sharing". It hasn't done a great job of articulating its material benefits.
This is what we did with Rewiring Aotearoa: frontload the non-carbon positives. E.g. www.rewiring.nz/watt-now/peo...
This is what we did with Rewiring Aotearoa: frontload the non-carbon positives. E.g. www.rewiring.nz/watt-now/peo...
People Power
People sometimes talk about ‘carbon tunnel vision’ – that is, the single-minded pursuit of emission reductions at the sake of everything else. But this is the wrong way to think about electrification....
www.rewiring.nz
January 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
... but. The New Zealand Government is still largely trapped in a paradigm of climate action as "burden-sharing". It hasn't done a great job of articulating its material benefits.
This is what we did with Rewiring Aotearoa: frontload the non-carbon positives. E.g. www.rewiring.nz/watt-now/peo...
This is what we did with Rewiring Aotearoa: frontload the non-carbon positives. E.g. www.rewiring.nz/watt-now/peo...
The paper concludes on a rather dismal note about the complexity of climate action, which is absolutely correct.
My take: as the authors note, public support on climate action recedes once climate policy becomes specific and, therefore, publics get clearer on material costs...
My take: as the authors note, public support on climate action recedes once climate policy becomes specific and, therefore, publics get clearer on material costs...
January 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
The paper concludes on a rather dismal note about the complexity of climate action, which is absolutely correct.
My take: as the authors note, public support on climate action recedes once climate policy becomes specific and, therefore, publics get clearer on material costs...
My take: as the authors note, public support on climate action recedes once climate policy becomes specific and, therefore, publics get clearer on material costs...