EnviroEconomics.ca

The CBO report (see my last post) has a number of folks talking. But I like this reaction, (here)

Good Climate Policy, Bad Politics.

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office confirms one of the most depressing facts about climate change: The best policy is the one that’s going nowhere in Washington.

The CBO report concludes that a tax on carbon emissions “would be the most efficient incentive-based option for reducing emissions and could be relatively easy to implement. If it was coordinated among major emitting countries, it would help minimize the cost of achieving a global target for emissions by providing consistent incentives for reducing emissions around the world.” But the major presidential candidates aren’t supporting such a tax, and the few proposals on Capitol Hill to impose a tax are not expected to go anywhere anytime soon.

I still plan to take a closer look at the report, and don’t totally support the whole sale adoption of the report’s conclusion without a closer read. But still, even if cap and trade is as efficient given similar design, the post’s inference holds…carbon tax is a four letter word in politics.