[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> The "polluter pays" penalty, I would argue, is already there, and
> folded into the taxation/subsidy decisions for individual fuels.
I don't accept that anyone has made any meaningful attempt to base fuel
taxes on a "polluter pays" principle.
> If you are suggesting an increase in CO2 across the board by $25-30, I
> accept that'll reduce emissions compared to not having the tax (though
> it's unlikely to be enough to actually reduce emissions, rather it'll
> lower the emissions growth rate), but I can also tell you why
> governments are not very keen, and that as said this across the board
> increase would primarily affect the competiveness of coal, and with
> restrictions on nuclear build, particularly so compared with natural
> gas, as $25-30 is not enough at present to make much of a difference
> for renewables.
If a particular mix of usage (amongst the fossil fuels) was preferred,
and already achieved by the established mix of taxes, then I'm sure it
would not be beyond the wit of man to devise a reasonably "equitable"
(and adaptively modified) increase across the board which would lead to
the desired outcome of downward pressure on emissions without causing a
mad dash away from coal.
(with "equitable" defined here to mean having small marginal effects
between the major fuels - whether this is really "equitable" for anyone
who claims to care about emissions is another matter.)
James
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