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We Need a U.S.A. Carbon Tax NOW

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“WASHINGTON — A major scientific report issued by 13 federal agencies on Friday presents the starkest warnings to date of the consequences of climate change for the United States, predicting that if significant steps are not taken to rein in global warming, the damage will knock as much as 10 percent off the size of the American economy by century’s end.” (The New York Times, 11/23/18)

“The Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States” (the Report),” released on Black Friday and reported on in the New York Times, Fox News and elsewhere, has brought to mind Pipilotti Rist’s video art piece, “Ever is Over All” (1997) –

Rist’s work shows a smiling, etherial Mother Nature getting back at “civilization” for its dominance and exploitation of nature.

Back to the Report. Offering a Summary of Findings in 12 categories, here’s one.

#10. Infrastructure-

“Our Nation’s aging and deteriorating infrastructure is further stressed by increases in heavy precipitation events, coastal flooding, heat, wildfires, and other extreme events, as well as changes to average precipitation and temperature. Without adaptation, climate change will continue to degrade infrastructure performance over the rest of the century, with the potential for cascading impacts that threaten our economy, national security, essential services, and health and well-being.”

In Chapter 29, “Mitigation-Related Activities Within the United States, initiatives in place now include:

  • “…states in the Northeast take part in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a mandatory market-based effort to reduce power sector emissions.”
    • Since this cap-n-trade policy was put in place in 2009, economic modeling shows results that “the region’s emissions would have been 24% higher without the program, accounting for about half of the region’s emissions reductions during that time, which were far greater than those achieved in the rest of the United States.” (“Energy Economics,” Volume 51, 9/2015.)
  • “California has a legal mandate to reduce emissions 40% below 1990 levels by 2030, and in a 2017 law, the state extended its emissions trading program to 2030, as well.”

“EPA’s war with California proves America needs a carbon tax,” read The Guardian headline (4/10/18).

The article resulted an announcement that the Trump EPA will repeal Obama EPA vehicle fuel efficiency standards in favor of weaker requirements. CA’s ability under the Clean Air Act to impose its own GHG standards was also threatened. 12 other states have adopted California’s GHG standards.

In a nutshell- Because U.S. gas is so cheap compared to many other countries around the world, lots of Americans scoff at driving sedans/compacts. Hit the open road, they say.  But now the potential loss of nearly 15,000 jobs looms at GM plants where lower fuel-consuming cars are made, but not selling.

THE KICKER. “American fuel prices are artificially low because they don’t reflect the associated costs of climate change damages. This is known as the ‘social cost of carbon’ – the costs taxpayers incur to pay for the added damages from climate-intensified hurricanes, floods, droughts, heatwaves, and so on. Economists call these costs ‘externalities’ because they’re not reflected in the market price of fossil fuels. Putting a price on this sort of pollution is ‘Econ 101’, and 95% of economists support either a carbon pollution price or standards like these fuel efficiency rules.” (The Guardian, 4/10/18)

P. S. Visiting in CA late last month I found unleaded regular gas to be $1.50 or more higher per gallon than in Baltimore.