Markets haven't been doing a good job of it so far, why would they in the future?

Yeah we live in the time where companies look quarter to quarter....or are rewarded by the market by growing like Uber where profits don't even matter.

Not sure we can hope for them to look into the future very far / care.

The likes of Uber are valued highly precisely because investors are looking very far into the future where these companies might become highly profitable.

I'm not convinced that is the case.

I really think there is a difference in "look at this market share" and critical thinking about how Uber can get to sustainability.

I think the whole tech company IPO is a weird otherverse that isn't as much about the future as folks think.

Markets work based on information. Lack of information causes consumers to buy something they don't want to buy, e.g. negative effects on the environment. Markets should be controlled in a such way that the seller must tell what they are selling, including environmental effects, and they must not lie.

Markets have no interest in environmental outcomes, and most consumers have greedy ones at best. There needs to be some oversight to ensure optimal outcomes for all.

The parent poster specifically said tax appropriately for externalities.