Carbon emissions are a big problem today and a significant contributor to global warming. According to research, taxing carbon is an effective way of addressing the problem and helping address climate change.
Taxing carbon could be the solution to carbon emissions
Recently, a study was undertaken to evaluate different policy changes to reduce the effect and cost of emissions in Texas effectively. Researchers found that taxing carbon was among the most effective policies for tackling climate change.
Ohio State University’s integrated systems engineering professor and study author Ramteen Sioshansi indicated that the objective is cutting carbon dioxide emissions. He argues that they established that having a price on carbon and allowing consumers and suppliers to make consumption and production choices are more effective relative to other measures.
Also, researchers looked at other policies like implementing rules requiring a percentage of the amount of energy used in a region from renewable energy. Surprisingly it was expensive to have renewable energy, and it was ineffective in carbon emission reduction as the researchers had anticipated.
In addition, researchers employed a model to establish the impact of using other alternatives to cut carbon emissions by 80% by 2040 from the levels witnessed in 2010. Findings indicate that taxing coal and natural gas could potentially cut carbon emissions, although at 50% of the renewable power tax credit price.
Renewable energy can reduce emissions, but it’s costly
Past studies indicate a need for energy storage to enable the management of renewable energy, more so after the shift to clean energy sources such as wind and solar from fossil fuels. Sioshansi stated that it has been evident for the past 40 years that adopting market-based solutions can be instrumental in cutting carbon emissions.
Surprisingly, although renewable energy sources can contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions, they can be costly. Sioshansi said it would have been better if subsidies were free and nobody had to pay for them. But unfortunately, it is not how the subsidies work.
