#18 Should we tax yachts or lasagna? With Christoph Ellersgaard and Rune Møller Stahl

Climate action drowns in division.

In one corner is the lower and middle class, who feel the climate fight has become too expensive, but do not want to be shamed.

And in the other is the upper class, who preach morality and personal responsibility - but who also have the largest carbon footprint.

This is according to Chrstioph Ellersgaard and Rune Møller Stahl, two of the three authors behind the book 'Climate and Class', which argues that the climate issue and the class struggle are completely interconnected.

Among other things, they point out the unfairness of the poorest Danes feeling shamed when it is the wealthy who emit the most.

"The higher you are in the income pyramid, the bigger your climate footprint. We need to look at the perception in society that the green ones are the ones who drive a Tesla and buy organic," says Christoph Ellersgaard

What should be more expensive?

According to the two authors, the climate issue should be about distribution politics instead of identity politics. In other words, figuring out where to limit consumption for the population without it leading to shaming.

Ellersgaard and Møller Stahl believe that the fairest thing to do is to make the rich pay more than they do today.

"Instead of starting with a tax on beef, start with a tax on private jets," say the two authors.

Listen to the lively discussion about the trench-digging climate battle in this week's Compass.

Shownotes:

Climate and class, book from 2025, Christoph Ellersgaard, Rune Møller Stahl and Andreas Møller Mulvad