Carbon tax and climate change
Environmental
sustainability is vital to protect the health, diversity and productivity of
the environment for the benefit of current and future generations and it is not
a small issue to be ignored. Climate change causes a serious threat to all
ecosystems, economies and societies and conversion to a low carbon economy
faces many challenges and opportunities. It helps to build stronger communities
by delivering environmental sustainability policies.
Carbon tax is a form of pollution tax which is a form of pricing
carbon. It imposes a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels
based on how much carbon their combustion emits. The government sets a price
per ton on carbon, and then translates it into a tax on electricity, natural
gas or oil. Because the tax makes using dirty fuels more expensive, it
encourages utilities, businesses and individuals to reduce consumption and
increase energy efficiency. Carbon tax also makes alternative energy more
cost-competitive with cheaper, polluting fuels like coal, natural gas and oil (Dowdey, 2013). The primary purpose
of carbon tax is to lower greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate changes
and global warming.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), which is included of the world’s leading scientific experts in
the field of climate change, the global climate is experiencing vivid changes
as the direct result of greenhouse gases such as Carbon
dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Hydro fluorocarbons etc. emissions
from human activity. Climate change is already apparent as evidenced by higher
temperatures, rising sea levels, increased ocean acidity and ice melt ( The CarbonNeutral Company, 2013).
Reference List
The
CarbonNeutral Company. (2013).
Retrieved January 01, 2013, from Climate change summary:
http://www.carbonneutral.com/knowledge-centre/climate-change-summary/
Dowdey,
S. (2013). How stuff works. Retrieved January 02, 2013, from How
carbon tax works:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/carbon-tax.htm
~ Buddhika Ranasinghe ~
There are two common meanings of the term "greenhouse effect". There is a "natural" greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth's climate warm and habitable. There is also the "man-made" greenhouse effect, which is the enhancement of Earth's natural greenhouse effect by the addition of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels (mainly petroleum, coal, and natural gas).
ReplyDeletehe two main policies that do this are a cap-and-trade system or carbon tax, and they're both referred to as "carbon pricing" policies. In either case, the most effective carbon price will be one that covers at least 80% of Canada's emissions and minimizes loopholes, giveaways, and special treatment.
ReplyDeleteClimate change, in my opinion, is the most and critical issue. Pollution problem is one of the major environmental problems we have to face, because pollution will lead climate changes, for example, global warming. So if we are serious about preventing the world from climate change, we have to deal with the pollution issue all over the world first.
ReplyDelete