The Climate Change Debate: Carbon Taxes vs. Cap-and-Trade

For anyone keeping up on climate change news, they will notice that Australia has been going nuts over the subject, staging rallies in support of action on climate change under the "Say Yes" Campaign. The campaign's current demand is for a carbon tax, a per-unit fee for each unit of carbon emitted. Recently, thinking on the subject of climate legislation has moved away from the cap-and-trade legislation championed by those nasty socialists over in Europe and in the White House and towards a carbon tax. Since there are compelling arguments for both, I felt it was necessary to outline the economic argument for each one.

Romney acknowledges climate change

Continuing his campaign against winning the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney has reaffirmed his belief in climate change, stating:

"I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that. It's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors."

He has, however, compensated for his outlandish views on... science... by  reminding the public of his ardent opposition to cap-and-trade; like Chris Christie in New Jersey, Romney pulled Massachusetts out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

It will be interesting to see how Republican candidates' position on climate change evolves as they scramble for nomination. The article mentions Pawlenty's mixed history with regard to climate policy, and I think we might continue to see Republicans distance themselves from the issue to differentiate themselves from the more moderate Romney and to appease the more conservative wing of the party which, for now, has a big say in who will be nominated.