Eco-nomics and Carbon Taxes

I wrote a small piece for the Global Assembly online dialogue, and wanted to share it!

So many ideas, where to begin?? The field of sustainable economics (or Eco-nomics, as I prefer) is so untouched that I see possibilities everywhere.

Today I'd like to describe my version of a Carbon Tax. The words have been heavily used lately in Canada and they sparked an idea. Instead of a downstream carbon emissions tax, why not try an upstream carbon extraction tax??

Understanding the carbon cycle, I've come to realize that normal carbon emmissions are not the problem (you are emitting CO2 right now as you read this, as I am while I write). We are part of the cycle, therefore our emissions are to be expected. The problem is that carbon is being extracted from outside the biophere's system (underground) and is being added to the atmospheric at an accelerating pace, flooding it. The problem isn't CO2 emissions (like you & me, biofules, cows decomposing, etc) the problem is CO2 extraction.

Therefore, I feel that the proper market-based tool for this problem is an extraction tax on carbon. Oil & mining companies would have to pay for the carbon beforehand, assuming that it will eventually be burned. Of course, customers would end up footing the bill (inevitably) with higher prices, but it will make substitutes of petroleum-based products much more competitive!

Moreover, you wouldn't need complicated emissions-reporting evaluations and audits. Every country knows how many fossil fuel resources get extracted every year, down to the barrel. Revenues could be shifted to subsidies for sustainable R&D or to help out those who need it most to find sustainable alternatives.

That's my idea, and I'm sticking to it!