Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead at 47

Re:Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead... by leoedin on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @12:25PM (#28130794)

If carbon tax is dead, what's the alternative? Is there one? I certainly can't think of one.

Ultimately the problem is that people aren't going to vote for things that make their life worse. And reducing fossil fuel usage currently makes your life worse. So it's unpopular.

I think sadly the answer is that we won't do anything meaningful about climate change until it's really, really bad - and then the mild life-worsening of a carbon tax will feel minor compared to the alternatives. Sadly it might be too late by then.

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Re:Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead... by dpweb on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @01:01PM (#28131274)

People will sometimes vote for things that make their life worse, with the right convincing. For instance, could say the unwillingness to tax billionaires leaves more of a tax burden on middle income people.

It’s too bad bc financial incentives like a carbon tax would almost certainly work. But needs better PR. For instance, a tax credit for electric cars can also be considered a tax on combustion engines, but it’s not presented that way.

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Re:Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead... by nradov on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @01:12PM (#28131455)

One alternative would be a cap and trade system. That would be worse than a carbon tax from an economic efficiency standpoint, but possibly more politically viable.

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Re:Carbon Tax, Beloved Policy to Fix Climate Change, Is Dead... by aeternum on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @01:22PM (#28131601)

What's wrong with cap and trade? It worked amazingly well in ending particulate pollution.

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