The case against a revenue-neutral carbon tax
I’m a fan of carbon taxes, but increasingly I see the term “revenue-neutral” attached to it. Where I live, in BC, we have perhaps the most prominent example of a…
carbon pricing
Low Oil Prices, Good or Bad for Canada?
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere, you’re probably well aware that the price of oil has fallen dramatically, to less than $50 / barrel. What this means for…
The Ecofiscal Commission and Polluter Pay
From iPolitics, here is my constructively critical take on the first discussion paper of the new Commission chaired by Chris Ragan. In a nutshell, polluter pay is a good idea,…
CGE models and carbon tax incidence
A colleague of mine pointed out a relatively new paper about the distributional impacts of BC’s carbon tax. In my work, we look at actual energy expenditures by different household…
Canaries In The Coal Mine, Dinosaurs On The Hill
We are still out West, but I can’t resist putting up a few letters from The Star that raise awareness not only of environmental perils but also, concomitantly, of the…
Another Informed Star Reader
Christine Penner Polle of Red Lake offers some observations that I suspect few but the most ardent ideologues would dispute: Re: Ottawa plans cuts to climate programs, March 12 Have…
Aren’t We Asking The Wrong Questions?
Newspapers currently abound with stories of the toll taken by the bitterly cold weather that has taken hold of a good part of the continent, followed closely by tales of…
OECD – We Need a "Big, Fat Price on Carbon"
The organization representing the industrialized, First World, isn’t pulling any punches on climate change. OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurria, maintains we need to decarbonize by mid-century. “We need to achieve zero…
Absolving our Carbon Sins: the Case of the Pacific Carbon Trust
Last week’s report from BC’s Auditor General dealt a huge blow to the credibility of carbon offsets and claims that BC had achieved a state of “carbon neutral government.” Coverage…
Carbon bubbles and fossil fuel divestment
Divestment from fossil fuels is an idea whose time has come. Sparked by Bill McKibben’s Rolling Stone article last summer, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math”, divestment campaigns are now up…
GHG Cap & Trade
This is a guest blog post written by Whitehorse-based economist, Luigi Zanasi. Please feel free to comment. Also, please note that this was written before Marc’s blog post of Jan.…
What’s next for BC’s carbon tax?
An oped of mine was published by the Vancouver Sun today: What’s next for BC’s carbon tax? Marc Lee Climate change forced its way onto the political agenda in 2012,…
Marc’s Letter from 2040
The following comes from a short talk on a vision for a zero-carbon BC that I gave at a couple events this Fall. Many have asked for the text so…
We’ll All Be Singing This Tune Before Long
It goes like this: “If we had had more ambition , we would not have to ask for so much for adaptation. If there had been more money for adaptation…
Joyce Murray’s Vancouver launch
That's video of Joyce Murray's Vancouver launch that happened Saturday afternoon. I recommend watching the full video as by the end of it you'll get a good sense of what…
What’s Next for BC’s Carbon Tax?
The Minister leading up BC’s Carbon Tax Review, Kevin Falcon, may be gone – his departure came just as the deadline for submissions was closing – but the carbon tax…
Earth May Reach Tipping Point
* More links: Scientists Uncover Evidence Of Impending Tipping Point For Earth Carbon Targets Need Strong New Measures, Panel Argues
A Green Industrial Revolution
Today the CCPA released a new big picture report by myself and student researcher Amanda Card calling for a Green Industrial Revolution. The report builds on work done for the…
In The Forecast: More Extreme – and Expensive – Weather Events
Montreal Quebec was hit by a short but fierce rainstorm on Tuesday, doing millions of dollars worth of damage to homes and businesses. The Montreal Gazette reported: Montreal firefighters answered…