Comments on: At Davos, Stern Calls for Carbon Tax http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/ Pricing carbon efficiently and equitably Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:07:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Benny http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-131 Benny Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:53:43 +0000 http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/#comment-131 "higher taxes on fuel" So he is proposing an additional tax to all fuel? even clean-burning ones? will electricity be considered a "fuel" since it is sometimes created by buring oil? will plastics be taxed? If the richer countries must pay more taxes, I hope the richer residents of those countries will be forced to pay more than the poorer ones. I'm a Canadian, and there is no way Canadians will stand for another tax, we are already one of the most heavily taxed peoples in the world. Nasa is reporting that the sun is responsible for the recent heating of the earth, even other planets in our solar system are heating up... should we tax the inhabitants of those planets too? This all just sounds like a giant scam to me. "higher taxes on fuel" So he is proposing an additional tax to all fuel? even clean-burning ones? will electricity be considered a "fuel" since it is sometimes created by buring oil? will plastics be taxed?
If the richer countries must pay more taxes, I hope the richer residents of those countries will be forced to pay more than the poorer ones. I’m a Canadian, and there is no way Canadians will stand for another tax, we are already one of the most heavily taxed peoples in the world.
Nasa is reporting that the sun is responsible for the recent heating of the earth, even other planets in our solar system are heating up… should we tax the inhabitants of those planets too?
This all just sounds like a giant scam to me.

]]> By: Dan http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Dan Wed, 31 Jan 2007 04:29:33 +0000 http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/#comment-25 <p>Aaron - Thanks. Another excellent Thomas Friedman column.</p><p>Phil - Good point, although I think you exaggerate how much of the pollution will move overseas.  If you have a good way to tax the carbon in imported goods, we're interested in hearing about it.  I assume that it will be next to impossible to do so and that there will be some "leakage" as some emissions shift out of the country.  A global carbon tax would certainly be preferable, but we have to start somewhere and a national carbon tax is certainly far better than nothing.  In fact, a state carbon tax would be a step in the right direction even though there would be leakage between states.  </p><p>If you look at our slide show (on our home page), you'll see in slide #6 that Americans emit in a week what others emit in a workweek.   Another reason not to wait for a global tax -- we have a lot more to cut here at home.<br /></p> Aaron – Thanks. Another excellent Thomas Friedman column.

Phil – Good point, although I think you exaggerate how much of the pollution will move overseas.  If you have a good way to tax the carbon in imported goods, we’re interested in hearing about it.  I assume that it will be next to impossible to do so and that there will be some "leakage" as some emissions shift out of the country.  A global carbon tax would certainly be preferable, but we have to start somewhere and a national carbon tax is certainly far better than nothing.  In fact, a state carbon tax would be a step in the right direction even though there would be leakage between states. 

If you look at our slide show (on our home page), you’ll see in slide #6 that Americans emit in a week what others emit in a workweek.   Another reason not to wait for a global tax — we have a lot more to cut here at home.

]]> By: Phil http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Phil Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:30:47 +0000 http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/#comment-22 One thing I haven't seen mentioned: the matter of international trade.  If the U.S. implemented a carbon tax, it would presumably apply to CO2 emissions required to manufacture imported merchandise as well as to the means of production in the U.S. If so, then it's a great solution -- it means that places like China and India would have a large economic incentive to reduce CO2 emissions, to enable cheap access to the U.S. market.  It in effect brings the export portions of their economies into Kyoto!  A good analogy for this is how California emissions standards have improved pollution across North America.  This is a way in which a carbon tax has a great advantage over cap-and-trade. If not, then we might find we have not closed down polluting industries, but simply moved them overseas.  Rapidly rising seas. -Phil One thing I haven’t seen mentioned: the matter of international trade.  If the U.S. implemented a carbon tax, it would presumably apply to CO2 emissions required to manufacture imported merchandise as well as to the means of production in the U.S.
If so, then it’s a great solution — it means that places like China and India would have a large economic incentive to reduce CO2 emissions, to enable cheap access to the U.S. market.  It in effect brings the export portions of their economies into Kyoto!  A good analogy for this is how California emissions standards have improved pollution across North America.  This is a way in which a carbon tax has a great advantage over cap-and-trade.
If not, then we might find we have not closed down polluting industries, but simply moved them overseas.  Rapidly rising seas.
-Phil

]]> By: Aaron http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/comment-page-1/#comment-18 Aaron Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:14:39 +0000 http://www.carbontax.org/blogarchives/2007/01/25/at-davos-stern-calls-for-carbon-tax/#comment-18 Did you see Thomas Friedman also called for a carbon tax in his column on, I think it was Thursday? Did you see Thomas Friedman also called for a carbon tax in his column on, I think it was Thursday?

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