Like Jed, I'd like to see the film. But assuming your concerns are correct, it's no surprise the ants higher up in the energy slavery hierarchy are buying up rights to conditionally scarcify. They have to because they have no choice. It's how the energy scourge has to develop, as depletion at the peripheries continues to get more acute.
But look, the more they do it, the more the temperature is also forced up. So the climate disaster will come to affect them too, and of course money will continue to lose energy value, if things stay as they are, and of course they too would be swallowed up by a global war.
How it would be addressed by roll-out of domestic and community based solar hydrogen with solar indexed stimulus (DCSH+SiS) ;
Firstly issue of SiS would put funds needed to buy food at elevated prices into the hands of everyone in the countries of issue.
Issue of SIS would immediately put the energy value back into money by monetising previously unmonetised solar economic product (Trillions since around 2005)
SIS will incentivise and enable widespread creation of hydrogen from solar.
Widespread hydrogen creation will reduce global temperature heating impulse by removing heating power from the sun at the rate of 33KWhrs per kg of hydrogen created (a two home community can produce 1kg per 24hrs, equipped with a single 2.4 KW electolyser and supporting hardware).
To calculate expected temperature reduction, calculate total human activity heating impulse (THAHI) by equating profit, all profit to heating energy, add total extraction and refinement energies, and subtract all energy dumped into hydrogen.
The resultant energy applied to the thermal mass of Earth, compared with previous values, computed with no hydrogen production, gives an estimate of temperature reduction, independently of greenhouse gas effects. (The latter being highly arguable, given the atmosphere is adiabatic).
Widespread use of hydrogen will force circulation and filtration of water.
The general direction of transfer of hydrogen will be from the domestic and non hydrogen consuming community, to aerospace community, with a smaller proportion going to land and sea based transportation, given a proportion of EVs will move to HEVs.
So water circulation would occur converting brackish water supplied to hydrogen production facilities, to drinking quality water received from transportation or aerospace, in part exchange for refuelling hydrogen.
SIS will also enable and incentivise food production from hydrogen (See "Solein"), with minimal temperature impact (A few Watts required to heat bioreactor enclosure).
Availabilty of food from solar will remove a proportion of human metabolistic energy load from conventional food chains, reducing extraction and refinement heating impulse, as well as profit heating impulse.
Availabilty of income by SIS will remove need for humans to continue engaging in bullshit business, further reducing profit heating impulse.
Availabilty of energy for all will reduce need for utilities energy supply at profit, reducing profit heating impulse.
Availabilty of SIS will reduce dependence on profit for living, reducing profit heating impulse.
Availability of SIS will reduce temptation to profit from supply of product at energy profit, which should be legislated to regulate, to ensure profit heating impulse kept to a minimum.
All of these statements are easily converted to system requirements, which can be used by governments / SIS issuing authorities.
I just produced them for free, in trust SIS will be forthcoming.
Thanks for your inspiring article Eric.