Before this article, I knew the general principles of carbon taxes, cap and trade techniques, yet I had no idea about British Columbia's specific policy actions regarding the price on Carbon. British Columbia, unlike its peer regions who prefer a cap and trade system, in 2008, established an economy-wide tax on carbon. This has incentivized investments in cleaner companies and industries and has disincentivized pollutant-heavy investments. BC's fuel efficiency has increased by 19% over the last few years. The price on carbon started at $10 a ton but has been increasing every year. Proponents of this tax are not trying to claim that it is the reason for BC's economic success, however, it certainly hasn't hurt the economy, which is often the fear of anti-mitigation skeptics.
This is relevant to our class because of our discussion of Global Climate Change, the effect that Carbon emissions have on it, and techniques for reducing such emissions. We've talked about mitigation techniques and people's responses to it, especially economic concerns.
This story proves that a carbon tax does not cripple the economy. If anything, it incentivizes cleaner and more efficient investments, which is better for the economy anyway. A carbon tax is a deterrent from the use of harmful energy sources, so I am in favor of such a tax. It also gives more potential spending funds for the federal government. If they were to invest the profit from the tax into clean energy and environmentally-friendly initiatives and infrastructure, this would be an effective and salient use of a more involved government.
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