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Washington state voters could be the first to approve a carbon tax
[Washington Examiner] Washington state could be the first in the nation to enact a voter-approved carbon tax if a ballot initiative succeeds there in November, an outcome that supporters say would prove the political tenability of a major policy to combat climate change."Even being in a competitive position is a significant achievement," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat and rumored 2020 presidential candidate, told the Washington Examiner in an interview. "If it doesn’t happen this year, we are not done." However, if voters in this progressive western state reject a carbon tax for the second time, after voting down a similar plan two years ago, it may slow what modest momentum there is for pricing pollution at the national level. "I do think about the consequences of it failing," said Noah Kaufman, a Columbia University economist who studies energy and climate change policy. "If a blue state fails again to pass a carbon tax, it certainly doesn't look good for efforts in states elsewhere, and at the federal level." The logic behind a carbon tax is simple, economists say: Raise the price of carbon intensive products ‐ based on the damage they cause society ‐ so consumers use less of them, and encourage producers to find other solutions to limit emissions. Posted by: Besoeker 2018-10-21 |
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