May 15, 2012
The following words have been drilled into me over the past two years of economics and environmental policy courses: we need to get serious about taxing the bad and letting the good thrive. In environmental economics, the ‘bads’ are environmental contaminants, all variety of nasty things such as PCBs, mercury, lead and, of course, those dreaded greenhouse gases. The ‘goods’ are products, ideas, and services that have either a positive or zero impact on the... read more
Nov 25, 2011
One of the hot potatoes being passed around the policy branches of state departments around the globe is the question of how to achieve a comprehensive, balanced and ambitious post-2012 Kyoto protocol that satisfies the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities. Recently, there have been numerous discussions to address this issue. One avenue, it is hoped, is deeper collaboration between policy makers during the upcoming UN climate change... read more
Nov 18, 2011
This post was reproduced with permission of the Pembina Institute. Working on climate change issues can be challenging, especially when you compare what climate scientists say needs to be done with what politicians are (or are not) doing. Tuesday was a particularly challenging day. That's... read more
Mar 29, 2011
On March 17, Carbon Talks hosted its third brown bag dialogue of the year. In the past, greenhouse gas emissions were essentially ‘free’ for the individuals and corporations emitting them, and only the environment paid the full price. During this dialogue, Nancy Olewiler asked “what do people do when they can get something for free? They take as much of it as they can!” The potential solution is BC’s carbon tax. The carbon tax is a price tag on... read more
Mar 9, 2011
On Valentine’s Day, Carbon Talks held its fourth Brown Bag Dialogue. In recognition of the one year anniversary of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, we asked Ann Duffy, the Sustainability spokesperson for VANOC and Christopher Hakes of Offsetters to take us through the carbon management plan for the Olympics. The 2010 Olympics was a massive enterprise, exceeding previous games in terms of spectators, participants and Facebook/Twitter followers. Creating a green,... read more