This story was originally published at Corporate Knights Forum a few years ago. It remains a useful way to understand the discussion around paying for carbon production. We republish it here in honour of the Climate Change Conference in Paris.
There is a growing discussion in the press about the validity of carbon Cap and Trade schemes. Most people do not really understand the fundamentals of Cap and Trade, so I thought I’d invite some experts to explain it. First, Carl Pope of the Sierra Club explains the basics in 45 seconds:
Charles Komanoff of the Carbon Tax Centre explains the difference between Cap and Trade and the Carbon Tax. Note that he applauds British Columbia for its rapid implementation of its Carbon Tax scheme. Do you want to know what Warren Buffet thinks of the Cap and Trade system? Some think he is objecting to it by calling it a tax, and that it will be passed through to the consumer. My reading is that he understands the importance of paying now for the impact our activities have on the future.
