carbon tax posts, articles, and infographics

2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back on Carbon Pricing

January 17, 2012 by David Hone
with 106 views

2011 turned out to be a busy year for the development of carbon pricing. Long the cornerstone of EU climate policy, the approach continues to find favour with governments focused on the issue of managing emissions, rather than those trying to manage the shape of the entire energy mix. [read more]

Airline Griping Over EU Aviation Carbon Tax Isn’t About The Consumer

January 16, 2012 by Tyler Hamilton
with 112 views

Here’s my take on the EU aviation carbon tax that is causing a stink with major world airline carriers: ———————————————— Tyler Hamilton My family flew to North Carolina during the holiday to visit relatives and, being aware of new baggage fees, we made every effort to pack lightly. Of two adults and two children we had only one item to... [read more]

Audio & Slides: "How to Save a Planet On a Budget" Part 1 - Carbon Markets

December 19, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 337 views

Welcome to the audio archive & slides for the first chunk of our green finance summit "How To Save The Planet on A Budget". This first session focuses on carbon: 1. Carbon: Pricing It, Taxing It + Trading It, Moderated by Gernot Wagner Featuring: Janet Peace, Lee Thiessen, Lucas Merrill Brown [read more]

Leadership By China is The Best Chance For Successful Climate Treaty

November 30, 2011 by Jim Pierobon
with 150 views

As the next round of international negotiations about a possible climate change treaty — the 17th to be exact since the Kyoto Treaty was signed in 1992 — get up to speed in Durban, South Africa, it’s becoming increasingly clear that an environmental emergency stands the best chance of compelling industrialized countries to act. That’s because nothing else will. [read more]

Free Market Perspective Dominates The Climate Policy Debate

November 15, 2011 by John Wilson
with 334 views

As Grist’s David Roberts might remind us, Bob Inglis’ recent climate change commentaries are a throwback to an era when policy and appeals to self interest had a role in national politics. A year after reasoned debate abruptly surrendered to unhinged anti-environmental sentiment, Bob Inglis’ perspective is barely heard by the most vocal members of his Republican party, for whom “policy [is] merely an instrument to reinforce the status quo and punish out-groups.” [read more]

It's Carbon Tax Time!

November 10, 2011 by Marc Gunther
with 425 views

“I was a huge supporter of cap and trade,” said Wayne Leonard, the CEO of Entergy, a $11 billion utility company. “We developed enormously elegant solutions, but they couldn’t get done.” Taxing carbon emissions is the next best way to deal with the threat of global climate disruptions, he said, in part because it would give the energy... [read more]

A Carbon Price for Australia - Finally!!

November 9, 2011 by David Hone
with 207 views

Depending on your take on events the toll has been as high as two Prime Ministers and one Leader of the Opposition, but Australia now has a carbon pricing mechanism operating in the economy (I say “now” in that even though it doesn’t formally start until July, the price exposure for companies was there the instant the law was officially passed). There does remain some uncertainty given the “blood oath” made by the current Opposition Leader to repeal the law, but at least for now the business playing field in Australia has changed. [read more]

350 PPM C02 Is No Longer Achievable

November 7, 2011 by Jim Pierobon
with 484 views

Here’s one slice of irony from today’s protest against TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline surrounding the White House: actually reducing the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from about 389 parts per million (ppm) currently to the widely-held threshold of 350 ppm is no longer possible. The combined impacts, to... [read more]

Carbon Smoke and Mirrors – The Reality of Emissions Reduction Plans

August 2, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 263 views

When it comes to energy and carbon emissions reduction, the devil is always in the detail. So too with Australia’s plans to cut its emissions by five per cent below year 2000 levels by 2020. But first, let’s look at the big picture. Why we need to do this As a scientist who researches the impacts of climate change on... [read more]

The Problem with a Carbon Tax

July 30, 2011 by Michael Tobis
with 313 views

Fuel is a luxury, sometimes. And sometimes it is a necessity.If we rely entirely on a "price" on carbon, and carbon remains fungible, what happens?Well, in a sense we already know. We in the US have encouraged the use of farmland to produce corn to produce ethanol. This notoriously contributes to the rise in prices of the coarsest,... [read more]

Carbon Politics in Oz: A Peek Behind The Curtain

July 14, 2011 by David Lewis
with 330 views

Australia's action to put a price on carbon cheered me up a bit. A brief study of the political tea leaves quickly destroyed the feeling. Consider this aggregation of Oz political poll data plotted over the time period since the government that is proposing this climate action now was elected: ... [read more]

Australia Unveils Carbon Price

July 11, 2011 by Solana Larsen
with 243 views

Australians remain divided after Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement of a Clean Energy package with a carbon price of $A 23 per tonne and an emissions trading scheme from 2015. Crikey had an early summary. The local blogosphere was quick off the mark. [read more]

Will Australia Get A Carbon Tax in 2011?

July 6, 2011 by Barry Brook
with 718 views

Australia is set to introduce a carbon tax (details to be released on Sunday 10 July 2011). This post is the place to discuss this policy — the good and the bad. A description, from the Australian Parliamentary Library: A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide. It is a pollution tax, which some economists favour... [read more]

The Left-Right Climate Trap

June 9, 2011 by Alex Trembath
with 137 views

Out of Australia, a solid and succinct evaluation of the political difficulties of climate action:People on the left instinctively believe in communal action, the role of government and the efficacy of international agencies such as the UN. They were always going to believe in climate change; it's the sort of problem that can best be... [read more]

More Voices Advance a New Climate Paradigm Abroad

June 9, 2011 by Breakthrough Institute
with 137 views

After 20 years of dominance, the pollution paradigm--the idea that we could solve climate change similar to the way we've addressed conventional pollution problems--irretrievably failed in 2010. At the end of 2009, the collapse in Copenhagen spelled the end of efforts to enact legally binding emissions caps at the international level. In... [read more]