Rising petrol prices are causing significant hardship, particularly for low income households, but is it responsible for political parties to compete with one another to produce policies that would lower the price? By under pricing non renewable energy sources, economies are enabled to develop in ways that allocate and use resources in inefficient and non sustainable ways. More sustainable ways of generating energy are not able to compete with cheap oil.
We need to transform our economy to put it on a more ecologically sustainable basis, but we need to make this transition in such a way that the poorest in our country, and in our world, do not bear a disproportionate share of the cost. It is not just a matter of economic management, it is also a matter of political choice.
Benedict XVI believes that ‘harmonious development’ is possible in the face of today’s challenges if we are guided by the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, and place the person at the centre of our programs.
Rising petrol prices can encourage us to take more personal responsibility for our use of non renewable energy sources. Environmental organizations provide many suggestions of ways in which we can do this, from solar energy and sourcing organic food grown nearer by, to using public transport or hybrid vehicles, or simply reducing our consumption. By increasing the demand for sustainable, fair trade products, we encourage a more appropriate allocation of resources and enable economies of scale to be achieved in production. Our action is a matter of ecological stewardship and of solidarity with the poorest and with future generations.
The different kinds of organizations and associations to which we belong can also take action. The environmental action of many schools and religious communities can make a direct impact and also raise awareness and provide examples of other, more sustainable, ways of meeting needs.
We live in a ‘vast and complex network of relations’ as Benedict put it in this month’s quote, and our own personal action can only go so far. We need structured collective responses at different levels too. For example, the organization of regular recycling collections by local governments has encouraged many more households and businesses to separate and recycle waste. It took a lot more commitment and effort to do this by oneself at the beginning of the 1980s! Governments at different levels need to take action to facilitate the transition to a lower carbon emission future.
We may be able to organize our own car pooling arrangements, but we need governments to provide an adequate and efficient public transport network. In the medium term, low income households on the fringes of our big cities could be better helped by the provision of public transport infrastructure than by artificially lowering petrol prices. People in rural and regional Australia will always have greater fuel needs because of the distances they must travel. Incentives to speed the development and commercial availability of alternative fuels and vehicles will be important for addressing their needs. In the short term the tax / transfer system could be used to share the costs of transition more equitably rather than popularist petrol price policies.
We want to be ‘active collaborators in the process of world development’ as Benedict says. The principle of solidarity encourages us to play our part. The principle of subsidiarity helps to guide the organization of our participation and the responsibilities of different organizations and levels of government.
Sandie Cornish
Editor
