Farmers, Forks, and Footprints
Our common ground: You and I may agree that the modern world notices nothing more clearly than a dollar figure. Though, whenever anyone tries to put an actual price on the damages like global warming — to fine-tune a carbon tax, levy past responsibility, or aid in litigation against fossil-fuel malefactors — the numbers are almost too much to absorb, all the time, especially middle class. The only fault we have on our baskets is that we are born when this “retroactive karm tax” is put in place.
Quick side comment: It’s immoral to buy the right to pollute. (That’s me stealing Sandel’s line).
Firstly, carbon tax, as I currently see it through failed implementation, is just but an alleviating moral stigmatization. We paid. It’s now profits all over the planet.
Companies don’t feel peccant about wounding the environment but rather see it as just another outlay of usual business because they have already put a price on the emissions they have done or will do; just a way out of environmental responsibilities.
Secondly, get your money back (un)guaranteed. The Canadian government promotes the carbon tax rebate system, assuring citizens that they will receive more money back in rebates than they pay in taxes. It sounds fancy, except that no taxes make the taxpayer rich. Despite the government’s assurances, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) has repeatedly stated that only some will receive more money back in rebates than they pay in taxes, and it is projected that by 2030, eight out of ten households will spend exponentially more.
Thirdly, the unethical aspect of Canada’s carbon tax program lies in its “revenue neutral” label, which masks its intrinsic inequity. Rebates tied to individual heating and driving practices benefit some while disadvantaging others. Larger residences that rely on fossil fuels and gas-powered vehicles pay more than they receive in rebates, putting a disproportionate strain on specific demographics. A study found that households using electricity for heating and hot water receive over $200 in rebates, while households relying on oil may face a loss of over $400. Carbon tax hits wallets harder than a hammer in a piggy bank race.
Fourthly, it’s an easy scapegoat for high food prices, and it’s just not obvious. According to Carbon Brief, climate change’s impact on staple foods and fruits may worsen malnutrition rates in low and middle-income nations. Nature Climate Change analyzed the possible effects of implementing a uniform tax on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use, which could harm food security in several ways. The tax would increase production costs, especially for carbon-intensive items like meat. It would also raise expenses related to agricultural expansion, leading to higher land rents. This, in turn, would promote biofuel production, which would compete with food crops for land and further increase land costs. These outcomes could raise food prices, significantly burdening the world’s poorest individuals, who spend up to 60–80% of their income on food.
Finally, the regressive squeeze on struggling wallets. A carbon tax on fossil fuels can have a regressive impact, disproportionately affecting the financially vulnerable. Say, a gallon of gas costs only $2.45 at the pump; a recent study by Duke University found that the actual cost jumps to $6.25 when you factor in the health and environmental damage caused by pollution. Meaning, the extra $3.80 is borne by all of us, but the burden falls disproportionately on the resource-constrained. Even if the tax is designed to be progressive, poorer individuals still experience a welfare loss due to the rise in prices, making their consumption more expensive.
Digressing a bit and see who’s joined the party. Leading scientists, economists, businesses, 8 Nobel Prize winners, all living ex-Federal Reserve chairs, 3,500+ economists, and Elon Musk support a carbon price for future accountability but never mind. In a carbon-tax-free market, we are trapped in a fossil fuel frenzy that fuels overconsumption and environmental destruction. Meanwhile, billionaires with carbon-rich empires leave the rest of us to pay for their mess.
Bibliography:
Brown, D. (2018). Ethical Issues with Relying on Pricing Carbon as a Policy Response to Climate Change. In Ethics and Climate. https://ethicsandclimate.org/2018/03/03/ethical-issues-with-relying-on-pricing-carbon-as-a-policy-response-to-climate-change/Dawson, T. (2023). What we know about how much the carbon tax is to blame for spiking food costs in Canada. In National Post. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/carbon-tax-groceries-food-pricesDunne, D. (2018). Global carbon tax in isolation could “exacerbate food insecurity by 2050.” In Carbon Brief Clear on Climate. Carbon Brief Ltd . https://www.carbonbrief.org/global-carbon-tax-isolation-could-exacerbate-food-insecurity-by-2050/Falk, T. (n.d.). The Liberal Carbon Tax is a scam and it’s hurting Canadian families. In Ted Falk. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://tedfalk.ca/the-liberal-carbon-tax-is-a-scam-and-its-hurting-canadian-families/MintzWoo, K. (2022). Carbon pricing ethics. Philosophy Compass, 17(1), e12803. https://doi.org/10.1111/phc3.12803Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. (n.d.). PBO releases updated analysis of the impact of the federal fuel charge on households. In Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/news-releases--communiques-de-presse/pbo-releases-updated-analysis-of-the-impact-of-the-federal-fuel-charge-on-households-le-dpb-publie-une-analyse-actualisee-de-lincidence-de-la-redevance-federale-sur-les-combustibles-sur-les-menagesPage ,Edward A. (2011). Cashing in on climate change: political theory and global emissions trading. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 14(2), 259–279. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2011.529713World Economic Forum. (2022). What are the advantages and challenges of a carbon tax? In World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/what-a-carbon-tax-can-do-and-why-it-cannot-do-it-all/. This article was originally published on the World Bank’s website.