From: Issue 20 Categories: environment
Every Tonne Has Its Price
An editor's note written and signed by a committee on one of the most important topics of our time.
A threshold for the dignity of humanity was established in the 19th century with the virtual abolition of slavery. The 20th century extended democracy with universal suffrage. The moral imperative of this, our 21st century, is to reverse human- induced climate change. The awesome engine of civilization has propelled us to a position of such power that we are not only masters of our own fate, but that of the planet.
The best science tells us that the planet is heating up at a rate that, during our grandchildren's lifetimes, will bring disruption to economic and social activity on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century. While the climate is a complex system, there is a simple reason why it is changing so quickly: It's because we use the atmosphere as a free dumping ground for billions of tonnes of greenhouse gases a year.
The single most effective measure we can deploy to stem the free flow of greenhouse gases is to make them more expensive to emit.
Putting a price on carbon is less rousing than abolition of slavery or universal suffrage, but doing it will take no less courage. Carbon pervades our economy like no other substance; putting a price on it will immediately make everything we depend on more expensive, from groceries to gas to electricity.
A shrinking minority of skeptics and those who have a vested interest in inaction on climate change will inevitably heap criticism on carbon pricing. For the rest of us who accept that climate change is happening and that we can do something about it before it gets out of control, it is absurd, unethical and reckless not to use the most effective tool that we have: the market. If people must pay to pollute, they will opt to pollute less.
But, as with any change to an economic system, the devil is in the details. Any attempt to put a price on carbon must be elegantly designed to make sure it is effective and fair, while minimizing the unintended effects.
That means ensuring it's revenue-neutral for the most vulnerable segments of the population, by sending out quarterly eco-rebates. It means making sure that no province sees disproportionate wealth flow outside its borders.
It means getting the price right (in combination with other policy tools such as access to capital), so there is sufficient incentive for all economic actors to reduce their greenhouse- gas emissions.
