Carbon Elites, Carbon Radicals, and Carbon Pricing
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Why it’s wrong to call carbon pricing a tax
Penalizing bad or dangerous behavior in society is how we prevent or reduce bad or dangerous behavior by individuals and companies. Safety and health regulations are some examples. This is the principle behind carbon pricing: Penalize behavior that society wants to discourage, namely, pumping climate-heating carbon into the atmosphere.
It’s hardly radical idea to think companies or individuals should pay for the costs of their pollution causes. Polluter pays is widely accepted concept.
Need-to-Know 1: Carbon pricing is in reality a fee.
It is a fee polluters pay to cover some of the real costs society incurs as a result of carbon pollution. At the same time carbon pricing discourages the use of fossil fuels that produce that pollution. This is not a radical idea. Pretty well every economist in the world backs the idea. Some 46 countries around the world currently have some form of carbon pricing. The US will be next.
Here’s an example of how revenue-neutral pricing can shift our choices:
Raise price of beer $5.
Return $5 to buyers.
Sales of wine go up, beer goes down.
Need-to-Know 2: It’s wrong to call carbon pricing a tax.
Would you call a parking ticket a tax? It’s a penalty for doing something society decided it doesn’t want.
Canada’s national carbon pricing started in 2019 and is revenue neutral and most Canadians get more money than they pay. For example, in 2020 a family of four in Alberta received $888 on average.
Conservative governments in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan spent tens of millions of dollars to oppose national carbon pricing. Ontario alone said it would spend $30 million, including $4 million on anti-carbon price ads. It was a politically-driven lawsuit with a cynical disregard for the value of their citizens hard-earned money.
Even worse, was their criminal disregard for the welfare of future generations — our children and grandchildren — who face a radically altered climate unless emissions decline 90-95% in the next two decades.
Fortunately Canada’s Supreme Court ruled against those criminally cynical conservative governments last Thursday. The Court went even further with some powerful statements about climate change:
“It is a threat of the highest order to the country, and indeed to the world
“The undisputed existence of a threat to the future of humanity cannot be ignored.
…is an existential threat to human life in Canada and around the world.”
On carbon pricing the Court said:
“This matter is critical to our response to an existential threat to human life in Canada and around the world.”
(Bold emphasis is mine. You can read the full decision here — warning it’s really long.)
Sadly the US will likely face the same court battles with many states even though the leading oil and gas lobby group just said it prefers carbon pricing to new regulations.
Need-to-Know 3: By 2030 every country will have carbon pricing
Far from being radical, carbon pricing should been in place two decades ago. By 2030 every country will have one. Any country without a reasonable carbon price will face carbon penalties —carbon tariffs or border taxes. The European Union and the United States are already working on plans to impose these.
Previously in Need to Know:
The Story Behind That Seafood Expose
How to make sure you get the fish you paid for.
With Easter coming up please check out my story that reveals one third of fish we buy are mislabelled and how you can ensure you get the seafood you’re paying for.
Need-to-Know 4: Carbon pricing is NOT going to solve the climate crisis.
Pricing carbon done well is a very important tool. However, it is just one of many tools we have to use including regulations. One of the least talked about tools is aligning our thinking, expectations and decisions with the overarching goal of 50% emission reduction by 2030. Let me explain:
If we hope to go a difficult-to-reach place ASAP, one we’ve never been before, not only do we need a plan to get there, pretty well every decision and every effort we make should help us get closer to that goal.
Need-to-Know 5: Act with the end in mind — cutting carbon 50%.
Reaching a 50% emission reduction will be difficult and every step we take, no matter how small, counts. Every decision we make, no matter how trivial, counts. That’s challenging to be sure right now but thinking and acting with the end in mind —50% cut in carbon — will become a habit in time.
Fortunately there’s a new book that can help called Under the Sky We Make. It argues that individual actions by those living in wealthy nations like Canada, US, UK, Germany and so on can make a big difference.
Need-to-Know 6: You are a member of the carbon elite
Author and sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas calls those with middle-class income or higher the “carbon elite”. Keep in mind that more than three billion people each emit less than two tons of CO2 a year. In North America the average passenger vehicle traveling 20,000 kilometres a year emits 4.6 tons of CO2.
The big carbon reductions we in the carbon elite can make is to fly less, followed by driving less and eating a plant-based diet Nicholas writes. She also documents her own journey to a low-carbon lifestyle.
In a review of Nicholas’ book, journalist Maddie Stone interviewed climate scientist Kim Cobb about one small change she made by deciding to bike three miles to work twice a week. At first it seemed impossible to keep doing but after a month she rode to work every day.
“It has become one of the true joys of my life,” Cobb told Grist. “And I’m kicking myself for never trying it before. It keeps me wondering: what other assumptions am I making about this transition in front of us that are so deeply false?”
I’ve had the same experience and the same realization. I’ve learned that walking or biking to the store isn’t a chore but one of life’s little pleasures even in bad weather. And that there is a world of delightful vegetables beyond frozen corn. Yes, it takes time and some effort to get used to a change for the better. Once we do, we wonder why we didn’t act sooner.
Need-to-Know 7: Change seems hard and then it’s wonderful
Nicholas advises us to take all the individual actions we can for things we have control over given our personal situation and our society’s infrastructure. By reducing our “luxury emissions” we will make the transition to a low-carbon economy easier for everyone
Need-to-Know 8: Individual action can make reaching 50% by 2030 far easier.
After cutting some of those luxury emissions we have control over, we can direct our energies toward “system-level changes,” like moving money out of banks that support mega-polluters, lobbying local, regional and national representatives to support aggressive climate policies, joining protests, supporting a price on carbon and more.
Need-to-Know 9: It is not radical to make changes that help us get too our goal.
As energy and climate scientist Kevin Anderson puts it:
“I just want the status quo – the same world, with a stable climate.
What’s so radical about that?”
Until next time, please stay strong and stay safe.
Stephen