Carbon Targets, Carbon Taxes, and the Search for Archimedes’ Lever

A real policy, no matter how kludged and compromised, is always more efficacious than a theoretical policy.  A carbon tax is the best (and only necessary) climate policy only on a blackboard or in a spreadsheet.  In the real world, power and interests matter and anything that alters them in the right direction is desirable.  Just as a carbon target means nothing until the policies and capabilities are in place, a carbon tax will only ever be as high as political economy allows.

Carbon Targets, Carbon Taxes, and the Search for Archimedes’ Lever - by David Roberts