A CARBON PRICE TO PREVENT POLLUTION

Pollution should not be free.  That is the principle we have adopted for everything from garbage disposal to wastewater treatment.  But when it comes to pumping pollution into our air, we mostly treat the atmosphere as a giant free garbage dump.  It’s not sustainable, and it’s not right.

Allowing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to be discharged into the atmosphere without any costs or limits provides no signal to industries or individuals to curb emissions.  But these emissions have very real costs that will be paid by all of us – climate change will result in billions of dollars in damage to infrastructure, agricultural lands, forests and cities if left unchecked.  Searing heat, increased flooding in some places and severe drought in others, bigger and more unpredictable storms, and rising water levels will create costly devastation, increased health costs, higher food and energy costs and resource shortages.

That’s why we need to put a price on carbon.  Pricing carbon will force us to face up to the fact that we need to curb our energy use and stop wasting valuable resources.  It will give us the incentive we need to become more efficient and more responsible.  Carbon pricing is not about putting the brakes on the economy – it is about restoring some control and direction. 

Will carbon pricing threaten our jobs and quality of life?  Carbon pricing must be complemented with measures to ensure companies do not relocate to areas without it so that jobs are preserved and economic activity maintained.

There is already a global consensus that carbon pricing is necessary and with the election of Barack Obama, progress toward a global carbon pricing system will only quicken.  There are a number of ways to price carbon: through a carbon tax, a cap and trade system or through regulated greenhouse gas emission reductions. 

We will still use energy and resources, we will still manufacture goods and sell services, we will still export and import, but we will no longer be ignoring one of the biggest costs of production – our environmental impact.    In fact, figuring out new approaches to meet our needs in a more sustainable way promises to be a big growth industry in the next few decades.  The United Nations reports that the global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from $1.37 trillion (U.S.) per year to $2.74 trillion by 2020.

Meanwhile, the revenue from carbon pricing can be recycled back into the economy to support a green transition through energy efficiency and renewable energy support programs, retraining and support programs for workers, efficiency incentives and other mechanisms.

In the end, carbon pricing will be a win-win.  It will allow us to maintain a healthy environment – the key to our quality of life – while driving the creation of good green jobs.  Now that’s a good deal.