Food for thought on an agricultural climate liability fee

Abstract

Year after year, global carbon emissions steadily rise. As a result, carbon removal technologies used to offset these emissions are of increasing interest. Agriculture, in particular, is a sector which faces significant challenges, and is unlikely to reach net zero emissions, making carbon removal attractive. Moberg et al. propose a climate liability fee to support a pathway to net-zero agriculture. In this commentary, we aim to situate this proposed fee within a broader socio-economic context. In so doing, we highlight several key tensions that such a proposed fee may overlook: (1) the generalizability of the Swedish context; (2) the technical feasibility for this proposed fee's implementation; and (3) downstream equity considerations. We advocate for the incorporation of political and equity-based considerations into climate liability fees – not merely as an add-on, but as fundamental methodological inclusion, to enable more effective policy implementation and uptake.