Carbon Tax - What's it all about

Muddy · Coal Joined: Dec 17, 2004 Posts: 1

Hi Folks,

First time on this Forum. Looks GREAT !

Anyway I was wandering what all you clever people make of the Carbon Tax. I think it's a MASSIVE topic which doesn't seem to be talked about much, so I was hoping to bring about a discussion!

So who knows what?

savethehumans · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Oct 20, 2004 Posts: 1541

Uh--that the oil & gas companies in the US will never allow it to happen?

MonteQuest

fecteau · Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 9:04 am Post subject:

As a Canadian environmentalist, I am grateful that we signed onto the Kyoto protocol.
However, Canada is likely to miss it's target for CO2 reduction, primarily due to the increase emission from our oil and gas production (specially tar sands exploitation) for export to the US.

So I would strongly support a CO2 tax on all oil and gas produced in Canada. The tax should be sufficient to buy CO2 credits equivalent to that produce by the oil/gas production and consumption.

Companies or groups (such as cities) implementing CO2 reduction programs could use their credits to pay the tax (even if they are from countries that do not support Kyoto).

Money collected from this tax should go exclusively toward renewable energy research and development or to buy valid credits from developing countries that reduce their CO2 or increase their forested area.

MarkR · Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 2:59 pm Post subject:

The carbon tax seems a solution elegant in its simplicity. By targetting the cause of climate change it encourages a free market to find and develop new carbon-free energy sources.

The monies collected from the tax could be used for any purpose, but a ring-fenced energy efficiency/research fund would allow most rapid reduction of emissions.

Of course, there's no reason to restrict such a tax to carbon. Figures for 'external costs' are available for a multitude of different energy sources in a variety of different countries. A unified 'external cost' tax on energy may be a fairer system.

See ExternE (A EU funded study into the external cost of energy) for more details.

mindfarkk · Heavy Crude Joined: Dec 07, 2004 Posts: 481

while i know next to nothing about this subject Razz

i vote for a direct line of funding from carbon tax to alternative energy subsidies.

Kingcoal · Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:14 pm Post subject:

I agree with a carbon tax and while weâ€™re at it, eliminate the income tax for a consumption tax. The elegance of such systems is that they payer can control his/her tax payment. I can drive my econobox and save tax money while my neighbor with the SUV can decide if it's still worth driving it 100 miles back and forth to work. There's nothing wrong with SUVs. They are great in very rural areas that get a lot of snow. But using them as commuter vehicles on a daily basis is extravagant. I call it the Tony Soprano syndrome.

Recent scientific studies show that CO2, while a greenhouse gas, might not be our major problem. Soot generated from coal, fuel oil and diesel fuel appears to be the major accelerant to global warming. Is there anything in the Kyoto protocol about soot?