Public AffairsEnvironmental PolicyRegulatory PolicyClimate Change MitigationClimate PolicyEnvironmental EconomicsCarbon Emissions ManagementCarbon RegulationClimate ChangeClimate Mitigation PolicyGreenhouse Gas Emissions RegulationGreenhouse Gas RegulationCarbon Emissions ReductionCarbon Emissions Reduction AgreementsCarbon Mitigation PathwaysClimate Change AgreementsEmissions Reduction PathwaysEnergy ConsumptionGreenhouse Gas EmissionsTaxation Of Carbon Emissions
This paper reports on how to stop global warming. At the Toronto Conference on Climate Change in 1988, the world's industrialized nations agreed on a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by the year 2005. This would not stabilize atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases but would at least slow their accumulation. Although difficult to achieve, the Toronto goal is certainly reachable. Newer, more efficient technologies can lower energy consumption without effecting economic output. CFC- substitutes can provide refrigeration. In fact, an international carbon tax of just $1 per barrel of oil, or $6 per ton of coal, would generate more than enough revenue to pay for the necessary fuel-saving measures. This tax could result from an international agreement similar to the 1987 Montreal Protocol, which obliges its signatories to cut down on production of CFCs.