How to fight global warming: Smart taxes

money.cnn.com (Dec 16 2009) Cap and Trade , Carbon Tax , Emissions , Fossil Fuel

1. With Copenhagen climate talks looking stalled and the Senate mired in complicated eco-wrangling, is there a simpler way to get the U.S. to reduce the carbon emissions that most scientists blame for global warming? Some say yes, a refundable carbon tax. The current cap and trade plan in congress to cut greenhouse gases involves a complex web of allotments and giveaways that some fear are too compromised to work. A carbon tax could cut greenhouse gases without having to make major concessions to any one interest group, supporters say. The tax works like this: A fee is levied at the refinery, coal mine, or natural gas well for each ton of carbon produced when the fuel is burned. That fee is passed on to the consumer, thus discouraging the use of the costliest, and most carbon-intensive fuels. (Read Full Article)

   Bookmark or Share this article

Login to comment.