Why a Carbon Tax Is Essential to Avoid a Costly Future
News Context
At a glance
- Carbon tax may be unpopular, but we need it to avoid a far more expensive future, and the government was wrong to cave in after protests, writes John...
- The first carbon tax was proposed in the United States in 1973.
- In 2019, more than 3,600 economists signed a letter in support of a carbon tax as the “most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and...
Carbon tax may be unpopular, but we need it to avoid a far more expensive future, and the government was wrong to cave in after protests, writes John Gibbons.
The first carbon tax was proposed in the United States in 1973. Almost 50 years later, 27 countries have instituted carbon taxes, but the U.S. Has yet to take action.
In 2019, more than 3,600 economists signed a letter in support of a carbon tax as the “most cost-effective lever to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed that is necessary.”
A carbon tax is a fee for tons of carbon dioxide emitted. It causes emitters to internalize the substantial costs that greenhouse gases generate for society at large, not just for the polluter.