Social Science Research Council Research AMP Mediawell
Citation

Nuts, Bolts, and Pitfalls of Carbon Pricing: An Equity-Based Primer on Paying to Pollute

Author:
Patterson, Jacqueline; Steichen, Lorah; Egland, Katherine; Chapman, Saleem; Lee, Mandy; Lee-Park, Zoe
Year:
2021

While carbon pricing and emissions trading schemes have been a part of climate policy discussions for decades, the concept has gained popularity in recent years. The term usually refers to two common policy mechanisms, "cap and trade" and a "carbon tax," which are market-based measures that create a carbon market by putting a tax, fee, or price on certain greenhouse gas emissions to give corporations an incentive to reduce these emissions. The questions we begin to ask, however, are around racial justice implications, including the extent to which these schemes phase out fossil fuel use and extraction – the ultimate solution to addressing the climate crisis.

Nuts, Bolts, and Pitfalls of Carbon Pricing: An Equity-Based Primer on Paying to Pollute finds that carbon pricing and trading systems are not very effective or equitable measures for curbing carbon emissions.