Actors:Carbon Emissions, Cap-and-trade versus Carbon Tax

Where do the relevant actors stand in the following debate: Is a cap-and-trade system preferable to a carbon tax in reducing carbon emissions?

Introduction to actors page:

This section is for documenting the positions, or stances, that have been taken by the relavent players, politicians, organizations, countries, as well as position papers in this debate. It is not a place for arguments, analysis, or extended biographical information. It is purely for documenting the fact that a pro or con position has been taken by a certain source.

Bibliography of pro/con position papers in this global debate

Yes

• Chameides, Bill (the Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense). "Cap-and-trade: more effective than a carbon tax". December 2, 2007
• Claussen, Eileen (president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change) and Judith Greenwald (director of innovative solutions at the Pew Center). "Handling Climate Change". Miami Herald, 7/12/07
• Ellerman, Danny (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research). "Are cap-and-trade programs more environmentally effective than conventional regulation?". 2003
• "Review of Environmental Economics and Policy". Oxford Journals. Winter 2007 - Argues that the EU cap-and-trade system is a success.
• Sperling, Daniel. "A new carbon standard: Taxes on CO2 emissions alone won't get us where we need to go". June 21, 2007

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No

• Bailey, Ronald. "Carbon Taxes Versus Carbon Markets, What's the best way to limit emissions?". Reason Magazine. May 24, 2007
• Cooper, Richard N. (Harvard University). "Alternatives to Kyoto: the Case for a Carbon Tax". February 2, 2005
• Davidson, Clare. "Carbon trading's real colours". BBC News. May 16, 2006
• "EU shows carbon trading is not cutting emissions"
• Holtsmark, Bjart and Jon Hovi1 (Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, and CICERO Center for International Climate and Environmental Research). "Cap-and-trade or carbon taxes? The feasibility of enforcement and the effects of non-compliance". June 30, 2006
• "Little damage from carbon tax, report says". Globeandmail.com. June 20, 2007
• Lohmann, Larry. "Carry On Polluting". New Scientist. December 2, 2006
• Mankiw, Greg (Harvard Economist). "The case against cap-and-trade". October 20, 2006
• Monbiot, George. "Ministers know emissions trading is a red herring and won't work". The Guardian. December 19, 2006
• Moore, Curtis. "Marketing Failure: The Experience With Air Pollution Trading in the United States". 2002
• Newsweek. "The Carbon Folly: Policymakers have settled on 'emissions trading' as their favorite global-warming fix. But it isn't working". March 12, 2007
• Smith, Kevin. "Obscenity of Carbon Trading". BBC News
• "The Case Against Carbon Trading". RisingTide UK. Mar 2002
• Stiglitz, Joseph (Columbia University professor and Nobel Prize winner). "A New Agenda for Global Warming", 2006
• "Time to tax carbon". LATimes. May 28, 2007
• Transnational Institute. "Cap and trade is not the answer: an open letter". January 31, 2007
• Zakaria, Fareed. "The case for a global carbon tax". Newsweek, 16 Mar. 2007

Activists: Where do the key activist groups and individuals stand globally?

Yes

Cap-and-trade advocacy organizations:

• International Emissions Trading Association
• Emissions Trading Education Initiative

Green organizations:

• Environmental Defense supports a cap-and-trade system[1], which some think makes this group an "outlier" among "green" activist organizations.[2].

Labor leaders:

• Mike Hall, AFL-CIO, "Labor Leaders Back ‘Cap and Trade’ Plan to Cut Carbon Emissions", 7/11/07

• United States Climate Action Partnership, "A Call to Action", retrieved on 7/15/07. - USCAP website

No

Carbon tax advocacy organizations:

• Carbon Tax Center
• American Enterprise Institute report, "Climate Change: Caps vs. Taxes", 6/1/07, calls a carbon tax the "the superior policy option."
• Actor:The Earth Policy Institute backs a carbon tax
• Carbon Trade Watch - Skeptical of carbon trading systems.

Prominent activists:

• Charles Komanoff, "Strange Bedfellows in Climate Politics", 5/23/07 - Komanoff is "an internationally known energy-economist and transport-economist and an environmental activist in New York City."[3]
• Al Gore supports a carbon tax
• Bill Clinton supports a carbon tax.

Academics and economists: Where do the academics and economists stand and what are their position papers?

Yes

• "Cap-and-trade: more effective than a carbon tax", Bill Chameides, the Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense 12/2/07

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No

See argument: The consensus among economists is that a carbon tax is the better approach

• Robert Reich supports a carbon tax - Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, former Secretary of Labor and co-founder of The American Prospect.
• Edwin L. Glaeser supports a carbon tax - Professor of Economics at Harvard Univesity and director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston.
• Harvard economist Gregory Mankiw advocates a carbon tax
  • Also see his Pigou Club list of other advocates of a carbon tax (which is a kind Pigouvian tax).
• Alan Greenspan advocates a carbon tax.
• University of Chicago Dean Edward Snyder supports a carbon tax
• Economics professor Tyler Cowen, of George Mason University, supports a carbon tax

Think tanks: where do the different think tanks and their scholars stand?

Yes

The Center for American Progress supports a cap-and-trade system.

No

• Transnational Institute - "Cap-and-trade is not the answer", January 31, 2007
• Open Europe, UK-based business organization, "say the system is too flawed and should be abandoned."[4]

Journalists and newspapers: Where do the relevant journalists and newspapers stand on this issue?

Yes

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No

Prominent and relevant journalists:

• Actor:Thomas Friedman advocates a carbon tax
• Actor:NYTimes columnist Nicholas Kristof backs a carbon tax
• Actor:NYTimes columnist Paul Krugman supports a carbon tax
• Actor:NYTimes columnist John Tierney supports a carbon tax
• Actor:Newsweek columnist Fareed Zakaria advocates a carbon tax

Newspapers:

• Actor:The Nation supports a carbon tax
• Financial Times editorial board.
• The Economist magazine editorial board.

International governing bodies: Where do international governing bodies stand on this issue?

Yes

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No

UN: "UN considering global carbon tax", August 4, 2004

EU and European governments: Where do figures in the EU and its governments stand?

Yes

Actor:Germany advocates a global carbon trading system.

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No

Jos Delbeke - the top E.U. official on climate change He said on 4/1/07, "Emissions trading is a very solid second best [to a carbon tax]."[5]

Britain:

• "Royal Society Calls for Carbon Tax in UK", 5/22/05

22 May 2005

United States government: Where do key politicians and officials in the US federal government stand?

Yes

American Conservatives - A carbon-trading system appeals to many conservative lawmakers because it fits into their general desire for letting the market determine prices instead of the government, while keeping revenue out of the hands of government.

• John McCain - Said on 2/07[6]: "Any responsible climate change measure must have rational, mandatory emission reduction targets and timetables,” and it “must utilize a market-based, economy wide ‘cap-and-trade’ system." McCain co-sponsored with Senator Joe Lieberman the Climate Stewardship Act[7][8], which would establish a nationwide limit on greenhouse gas emissions and then issue permits to emit greenhouse gases.[9]

Paul Volcker, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve supports a carbon tax.[10]

No

United States Senators supporting a carbon tax:

• Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) has promoted a carbon tax (over a cap-and-trade system) in his campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential race.[11]
• Congressman Pete Stark (D-CA) and Congressman Jim McDermott (D-Wash) are the lead sponsors of the "Save Our Climate Act," which would impose a $10 per ton (of carbon) charge on coal.[12]

Other governments - Where do other governments stand in this debate

Yes

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No

• Canada - "Quebec to collect nation's 1st carbon tax" (in October, 2007) 6/7/07 Energy companies will pass cost to consumers, say analysts
• India initiates carbon tax research study. Hindustan Times, "Govt tells TERI to study carbon tax", 6/20/07

Businesses: Where do the relevant businesses stand on this issue?

Yes

Businesses often like the idea of a cap-and-trade system because it offers the flexibility of allowing businesses to figure out the least expensive way to reduce overall emissions:

U.S. Climate Action Partnership - consisting of ten big companies with a total market capitalization of $750 billion including DuPont, Alcoa, General Electric, and BP America - issued in January 2007 a "blueprint for a mandatory economy-wide, market-driven approach to climate protection."[13]

Business Wire, "California Companies Say 'Cap and Trade' is Preferred Method for Emissions Reduction", 12/4/06

No

A carbon tax offers the advantage of price stability to businesses: Ronald Bailey, "Carbon Taxes Versus Carbon Markets", 5/18/07 - "Although businesses — especially utilities involved in the SO2 market — might initially prefer a carbon market, the price stability promised by carbon taxes should eventually win most companies over."

CEO's that support a carbon tax:

• Actor:Bruce Williamson, CEO Dynegy, backs a carbon tax
• Actor:Lewis Hay III, Chief Executive of FPL Group, supports a carbon tax
• Actor:Paul Anderson, Chairman and CEO, Duke Energy backs a carbon tax

Main pages for the 2007 Global Debates

• The People Speak: Global Debate Format
• The People Speak: Global Debate Festival
• The People Speak: Global Debates: Debates at school
• Carbon Emissions: Market vs. Regulatory Approaches (Background)
• Debate:Carbon Emissions, Market vs. Regulatory Approaches
• Debate:Carbon Emissions, Cap-and-trade versus Carbon Tax
• The People Speak: Global Debate (glossary of terms)
• The People Speak: Global Debate Translation Resources
• The People Speak: Cartoons