Editor:
Carbon taxes have been around since 2008, but CO2 emissions have continued to increase. The reason is simple, economies continue to grow. No matter how much carbon emissions are taxed, cars, buses, trucks, ships and planes continue to be built and they all emit CO2, so unless society and economic growth is put on hold (highly unlikely), CO2 emissions will continue to increase in spite of a carbon tax. So what’s the better solution?
Business and people respond much better to “what’s in it for me.” Taxes are at best unpopular and ineffective thus making them not the solution.
Instead of taxing CO2 on the consumption side, make all producers direct a percent of their revenues to research ways of cleaning fossil fuels to eliminate CO2 emissions.
This can be achieved by reducing corporate taxes based upon success of reducing CO2 emissions.
A second approach is to use monies to directly address other country CO2 emitters to take steps to address their issues. For example there’s not much purpose in having a carbon tax while Brazil and other countries in South America continue to destroy the rainforest which is natures CO2 cleaner for the planet.
Another issue is why on one hand Canada imposes a CO2 tax on consumers, yet permits millions of tons of coal to be shipped out of Canadian ports to other countries that continue to build coal burning plants to produce their electricity at the expense of the health of the planet?
The other most unfortunate myth is the electric car, a vehicle that uses a battery to move it from one place to another. Has anyone ever thought how much fossil fuels are burned to produce electricity to actually make a single car battery? For example, it usually takes 200 tons of mining to extract the raw essential materials and elements to make one battery. It’s been estimated that if 400 million cars were on the road today run by electricity, the CO2 emissions on this planet would have increased by 11 per cent because it takes fossil fuels to produce electricity to produce batteries. It’s the old two steps back, one step forward approach…it will not work.
In short the CO2 tax is just another tax grab that will accomplish absolutely nothing except harm Canadians who are experiencing higher prices in just about everything in their lives and having to take a fair amount of their disposable income to address the CO2 tax issue. Another approach should be implemented if we really wish to save the biosphere.
Barrie McDonald
