Tuesday, December 11, 2007

US laureate proposes a CO2 tax

From the Times of India:

The home of the Nobel Peace Prize is probably not the likeliest of places to talk of global warming. But even as flakes of snow swirled around outside and the temperature hovered around freezing, this year's recipients of the peace prize - Al Gore and IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri - spoke about the perils of global warming and ways to combat it.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, a day before the award ceremony, Gore advocated a large carbon dioxide tax in all countries. "I am in favour of a carbon dioxide tax which should be given back to the people," he said. He said this in the context on the usefulness of the carbon trading regime. "It is unfair to judge carbon trading because the world's largest emitter, the US, is not taking part. But the vitality of the markets must be harnessed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions," he said....MORE

From the Nobel site:
The Nobel Lecture given by The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2007, Al Gore (Oslo, December 10, 2007)


...This week, I will urge the delegates in Bali to adopt a bold mandate for a treaty that establishes a universal global cap on emissions and uses the market in emissions trading to efficiently allocate resources to the most effective opportunities for speedy reductions.

..
And most important of all, we need to put a price on carbon -- with a CO2 tax that is then rebated back to the people, progressively, according to the laws of each nation, in ways that shift the burden of taxation from employment to pollution. This is by far the most effective and simplest way to accelerate solutions to this crisis..