Barbara Boxer Introduces Carbon Tax Legislation

Cap and trade has been the more business friendly and, by that default, the most politically feasible manner in which to begin controlling carbon emissions. But Senator Barbara Boxer of California has introduced a carbon tax bill, which is far more direct and, if implemented, more likely to achieve the desired results of reducing our country’s carbon emissions.

            Under her bill, companies would pay $20 per ton of carbon or methane emitted, with the tax increasing by 5.6 percent each year for the next ten years. Money from the tax would go towards energy research and weatherizing homes.

            Manik Roy, of the non-partisan Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, says that the bill has a snowball’s chance in a global warming world of passing as stand-alone legislation, but Democrats might be able to get the bill passed by attaching the bill to business friendly legislation that lowers some taxes.

            Hats off to Barbara Boxer. Although it is an uphill battle, I believe that within the next few years a national carbon tax will become part of our country’s energy policy.