The idea of a carbon tax comes from economist Arthur Pigou, who created the theory of externalities. It works. Therefore the industry is screaming about it. Therefore we must do more of it. And dump the subsidies, too.
Pigou didn’t use the word “externalities”. He called them “negative marginal social net product”. I will have a Diary about his views on taxing them, in what has come to be known as Pigovian taxation, on Saturday. For today, let’s look at the data, including the maps above and below, of carbon taxes and subsidies.
Fossil fuel subsidies—Wikipedia
Despite the G20 countries having pledged to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies,[5] as of 2023 they continue because of voter demand[6][7] or for energy security.[8] Global fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2022 have been estimated at one trillion dollars;[4] ["Fossil Fuels Consumption Subsidies 2022 – Analysis". IEA. Retrieved 2023-02-16.] although they vary each year depending on oil prices they are consistently hundreds of billions of dollars.[9]
However the IMF estimates 2020 total subsidies at $5.9 trillion or 6.8 percent of GDP: this figure is much larger because over 90% of it is undercharging for environmental costs and foregone consumption taxes (implicit subsidies).[18] Setting fossil fuel prices that reflect their true cost would cut global CO2 emissions by 10% by 2030, according to the IPCC in 2023.[19] Unfortunately governments worldwide have increased their subsidies to 7 trillion in 2022 due to high energy prices according to the IMF. [20]
This is the epitome of wasteful government spending. We can sell saving Real MoneyTM, real lives, and Planet A to the public, and we must do so.
Carbon Tax and Cap and Trade Initiatives
Past Evidence
We have solid data showing that carbon taxes work.
- Andersson, Julius J. (November 2019). "Carbon Taxes and CO2 Emissions: Sweden as a Case Study". American Economic Journal: Economic Policy. 11 (4): 1–30. doi:10.1257/pol.20170144. ISSN 1945-7731.
- Murray, Brian; Rivers, Nicholas (1 November 2015). "British Columbia's revenue-neutral carbon tax: A review of the latest "grand experiment" in environmental policy". Energy Policy. 86: 674–683. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2015.08.011. ISSN 0301-4215.
- "Carbon Taxes II". igmchicago.org. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- "Carbon Tax | IGM Forum". Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- "Climate Change Policies". igmchicago.org. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- "ECONOMISTS' STATEMENT ON CARBON DIVIDENDS". clcouncil.org. 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- Zhang, Kun; Wang, Qian; Liang, Qiao-Mei; Chen, Hao (1 May 2016). "A bibliometric analysis of research on carbon tax from 1989 to 2014". Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 58: 297–310. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.089. ISSN 1364-0321.
- Loewenstein, George; Ho, Emily H.; Hagmann, David (2019). "Nudging out support for a carbon tax". Nature Climate Change. 9 (6): 484–489. Bibcode:2019NatCC...9..484H. doi:10.1038/s41558-019-0474-0. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 182663891.
News
Africa proposes global carbon taxes to fight climate change
The Nairobi Declaration capped the three-day Africa Climate Summit in Kenya's capital.
The document, released on Wednesday, demanded that major polluters commit more resources to help poorer nations.
African heads of state said they will use it as the basis of their negotiating position at November's COP28 summit.
The Nairobi Declaration urged world leaders "to rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport and aviation, that may also be augmented by a global financial transaction tax".
Around two dozen countries currently impose taxes on carbon, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the idea of a global carbon tax regime has failed to gain much traction.
No word on a specific price level in this proposal. $100/tonne is common in Europe.
EU commission chief asks G20 to join global carbon pricing
According to a World Bank report, there are currently 73 carbon pricing instruments in operation, covering around 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking at the opening session of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Leyen said that the EU's 'Emissions Trading System' has helped reduce emission by 35% since 2005, while generating more than 152 billion euros ($162.6 billion) of revenues.
Japan, the world's fifth-biggest carbon dioxide emitter, is among the G20 countries that have recently adopted carbon pricing. The Tokyo Stock Exchange plans to open its carbon credit market and begin trading around October.
Climate talks in the G20 grouping, responsible for 80% of global emissions, are being keenly watched by the world ahead of a crucial global stocktake COP28 meeting in the United Arab Emirates later this year.
Stepping stones for a broader carbon tax scheme in Bangladesh
A carbon tax is a more appropriate instrument for Bangladesh than an emissions trading scheme because of the ease of implementation. A tax can also provide a clear price signal, while the carbon revenue can be a good funding source for clean energy projects.
Carbon tax medicine is a better Rx than green subsidy sugar
It's a more cost-efficient and an overall more effective system.
Carbon Tax Market Size and Regional Outlook Analysis 2023-2030
This is a press release, high on hype but including no facts. When I was writing press releases for market research reports that I wrote for various companies, we always included estimates of market size and growth rate.
Subsidy Initiatives
Biden Cuts Fossil Subsidies, But Oil and Gas Still Lines Up for Billions
“The President is committed to ending tens of billions of dollars of federal tax subsidies for oil and gas companies,” the White House said in a budget fact sheet. The proposal “saves $31 billion by eliminating special tax treatment for oil and gas company investments, as well as other fossil fuel tax preferences.”
It is far more of a start than we could hope for given the usual Denialist obstructionism, but far less than we need. Just vote in Nov. 2024, so we don’t have to take this any more.
But oil and gas companies still stand to gain billions of dollars in subsidies under Biden’s signature climate legislation, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the Financial Times writes.
Although the bill mostly funds a vast, ambitious menu of energy efficiency and renewable energy manufacturing and deployment efforts, it “also includes generous incentives for a set of lower-carbon technologies and fuels where oil and gas executives argue they hold a big advantage,” the Times explains. “Oil companies are starting to plough cash into projects to capture and lock away carbon dioxide, to retool refineries for making biofuels, and produce low-emission hydrogen, all supported by the IRA’s green subsidies.”
Industry carbon capture for rejuvenating oil wells is 100% bogus, but biofuels and hydrogen will be for real. Real carbon capture, at the multi-gigaton scale, will come from
- the Trillion Trees project
- regenerative agriculture to increase carbon in soils
- seeding the oceans with iron dust to create plankton blooms
- reacting CO2 with reactive serpentine, olivine, and basalt minerals to create stable carbonate minerals.
- Or perhaps new technologies that can scale
IMF: Climate Change | Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Subsidies are expected to decline in the near-term as energy price support policies is unwound and international prices fall, but then rise to $8.2 trillion by 2030 as the share of fuel consumption in emerging markets (where price gaps are generally larger) continues to climb. 18 percent of the 2022 subsidy reflects undercharging for supply costs (explicit subsidies) and 82 percent for undercharging for environmental costs and forgone consumption taxes (implicit subsidies), with the share of explicit falling to 8 percent by 2030.
Raising fuel prices to their fully efficient levels reduces projected global fossil fuel CO2 emissions 43 percent below baseline levels in 2030—or 34 percent below 2019 emissions. This reduction is in line with the 25-50 percent reduction in global GHGs below 2019 levels needed by 2030 to be on track with containing global warming to the Paris goal of 1.5-2C. Globally, around 60 percent of the CO2 reduction comes from reduced use of coal, while 30 and 10 percent respectively are from reductions in consumption of petroleum and natural gas. Removing only explicit subsidies reduces emissions to 5 percent below the baseline, while a partial price reform of halving the gap between current and efficient prices reduces emissions 31 percent.
U.S. policymakers should learn from carbon tax revenue recycling and carbon taxes in practice like the British Columbia Canada carbon tax.
Niskanen Center
A carbon tax would help reduce the federal deficit
If the Biden administration is serious about lowering the U.S. federal deficit to a sustainable level, it needs to include carbon taxation.
Reuters
As is often the case, Germany is going about this exactly backwards.
Germany wants to launch a subsidies programme for industries to support their switch to climate-neutral production, as Europe's biggest economy examines ways to make industry carbon-neutral by 2045.
More Data Sources
Washington, D.C.
The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) unites finance, policy and technology to accelerate the transition to a renewable energy economy.
EVs of all types are already displacing 1.5 million barrels per day of oil usage, equivalent to about 3% of total road fuel demand.
Lots and lots of data on the blurb page, and far more in the report. This is how you do market research PR.
The fight over California community solar: ‘It’s everyone vs. utilities’
Α broad and unlikely coalition has united behind a proposal that would finally let community solar flourish in California. Utilities are trying to stop it.
Wind and solar were EU’s top electricity source in 2022 for first time ever
Founded by @algore, we’re bringing the world together to stop climate change and create a healthy and prosperous future powered by clean energy.
That’s right. It isn’t only governments funding Fossil Foolishness.
DeSmog was founded in January 2006 to clear the PR pollution that is clouding the science and solutions to climate change. Our team quickly became the world’s number one source for accurate, fact-based information regarding global warming misinformation campaigns.
Citizens can handle the truth on climate, when they see something meaningful they can do about it together.
The value of oil exports declined to 72 billion riyals ($19.20 billion) in May from 115.5 billion riyals last year, the General Authority for Statistics said, down 37.7 percent, with the share of oil exports in total exports down to 74.1 percent from 80.8 percent in May 2022.
Berlin, Germany
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National trade association for the U.S. solar energy industry. Building a strong solar industry to power America.
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Shipbuilding was one of the first major South Korean industries to go global and give the country a huge economic boost when I was there in the Peace Corps starting in 1967. Back then, much of the country had not fully recovered from the Korean War, and day laborers like this one made less than a dollar a day.
This odd bike lane stands in the middle of a highway.
Under the overhead
solar panels, cyclists use subterranean tunnels to enter and exit the path, which boosts safety tremendously since they can get on and off the bikeway without being involved in the regular traffic. Once on the route, they're shielded from the traffic on each side by barriers, and while that doesn't provide pleasant roadside views, it does offer sun protection.
Travel from Daejeon to Sejong by bike Watch it .
There are lots more sources than this. I will continue to provide updates.