The building blocks of the zero-carbon commonwealth.

July 26, 2021 10:40 AM

... the question isn’t whether the world will decarbonize, but how it will decarbonize - and co-ops are ideal vehicles for pursuing a democratic path to decarbonization. Top-down, technocratic approaches that rely heavily on market logic, such as those pursued by Investor Owned Utilities, tend to favor the rich. Co-ops offer an egalitarian alternative.
posted by mhoye (3 comments total)

Great article. Private control over public utilities should be banned, it's undemocratic.
posted by biogeo at 2:17 PM on July 26, 2021 [3 favorites]

There's also the Public Power (local government owned) option. They've recently been targeted by investors looking to take advantage of cash strapped communities.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:02 PM on July 26, 2021

In Italy this model is being implemented on a national scale by one energy collective so far, ènostra (“it’s ours”). It’s such a better solution, cheaper too; it’s slowly but surely catching on. Only a few other European countries have similar large-scale alternatives to the typical handful of big commercial energy providers, there’s such a future in this, it’s one of the few solid things that feel like a beacon in the dark times we’re heading for.
posted by progosk at 11:25 PM on July 26, 2021