A National Carbon Tax: Another Option for Carbon Pricing

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 14:00:00 GMT

You are invited to a briefing which will discuss a phased-in, revenue-neutral national carbon tax as a policy option for addressing climate change. This briefing is sponsored by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), the Carbon Tax Center, the Climate Crisis Coalition, Friends Committee on National Legislation and Friends of the Earth.

The briefing will focus on the environmental, economic, economic-efficiency, logistical and political benefits of a national carbon tax, particularly one that is phased-in and revenue-neutral. Many economists have called for enactment of a carbon tax as the simplest, easiest to administer and most transparent approach to carbon pricing, despite the conventional wisdom that a “cap and trade” regime is key to a political consensus.

Speakers for this event include:

  • Rep. John B. Larson (D-CT)
  • James Hansen, PhD, Director, Goddard Institute of Space Studies, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • James Hoggan, British Columbia Public Affairs Advisor; Chair, David Suzuki Foundation
  • Gilbert Metcalf, PhD, Professor of Economics, Tufts University; Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research
  • Robert Shapiro, PhD, Co-Founder and Chairman, Sonecon; former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs
  • Brent Blackwelder, President, Friends of the Earth (Moderator)

Issues to be discussed include:

  • The need for carbon emissions pricing
  • Relative time frames for implementing a carbon tax and a carbon cap and trade system
  • Revenue-neutrality vs. targeted investment
  • Revenue tax-shift vs. revenue distribution via “dividends”
  • Potential implications for cap and trade from the financial crisis
  • Lessons from Canada’s recent national election which turned, in part, on a carbon tax proposal, and from British Columbia’s carbon tax which took effect in July 2008

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact James Handley at (202) 546-5692 or [email protected], Charles Komanoff at (212) 260-5237 or [email protected], or Laura Parsons at (202) 662-1884 or [email protected].