Carbon taxes and carbon pricing are two of the highly debated methods by which we can put a price on carbon emissions in order to mitigate climate change and create a more sustainable planet for future generations. So, we had to ask: What’s the difference between carbon taxes and carbon pricing?

Carbon taxes are a price tag put on fossil fuel emissions to disincentivize their use and promote a switch to green energy. Carbon pricing captures the external costs of greenhouse gas emissions and ties them to their sources, typically by placing a price on carbon dioxide emissions.

In the fight against climate change, how can we tell the difference between carbon taxes and carbon pricing? Below we will define both terms, identify the key advantages and differences of each, explore how they operate and what impact they have on carbon emissions, and discuss why they are important in the fight against climate change.

How Are Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Defined

Carbon taxes and carbon pricing are sustainability tools that can help individuals and organizations lower their carbon footprints. They are used in conjunction to limit the total amount of carbon emissions.

What Does the Dictionary Say About Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing

Carbon emissions already have a price tag attached to them, but it is our environment that pays the price, not the emitters. Carbon taxes seek to resolve this issue and make the emitters pay for their carbon emissions. 

“Carbon Tax: a tax on the use of fuels that produce gasses that harm the atmosphere”

Cambridge Dictionary

A carbon tax is a fee placed directly on the burning of fossil fuels (i.e., coal, oil, and natural gas). And it is the only way to make users of fossil fuels pay for the social, economic, and environmental damage caused when carbon is released into the atmosphere. Placing the tax on the fuel itself creates a monetary disincentive that promotes the switch to greener energy by making it more economically rewarding to use non-fossil fuels. 

Finland was the first country to implement a carbon tax back in 1990, and now there are 64 carbon pricing policies (carbon taxes and cap-and-trade policies) in operation worldwide. 35 of these are carbon tax programs. As of 2021, Sweden had the highest and Poland the lowest carbon tax at $137 and <$1 per metric ton of CO₂ equivalent, respectively. The United States and Australia are currently the only two developed countries without some form of carbon pricing.

Carbon taxes are one aspect of carbon pricing, where a price is placed on emitted CO₂ in order to internalize the external costs of greenhouse gas emissions. These external costs include damages caused by climate change: sea level rise, temperature rise, and increased occurrences of extreme weather events.

“Carbon Pricing: an instrument that captures the external costs of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—the costs of emissions that the public pays for, such as damage to crops, health care costs from heat waves and droughts, and loss of property from flooding and sea level rise—and ties them to their sources through a price, usually in the form of a price on the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted.”

The World Bank

Carbon pricing provides an economic signal to emitters, through which they either change their emission behavior or continue to emit at the same level at an increased cost. The money generated from carbon pricing can then be used to fund advancements in green technology and to fuel the low-carbon movement.

What Are the Differences Between and Advantages of Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing

The main difference between carbon taxes and carbon pricing is that carbon taxes are a component of carbon pricing, but carbon pricing includes more than just carbon taxes.

There are 5 main types of carbon pricing:

• Carbon tax: A fee placed directly on the burning of fossil fuels.

• Carbon emissions trading system: Sets a cap on the total amount of emissions allowed to enter our atmosphere.

• Carbon offsets: Investments in environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions elsewhere to compensate for your carbon footprint.

• Internal carbon pricing: A tool used to internally guide an organization’s decision making in regards to climate change impacts, risks, and opportunities.

• Results-based climate finance (RBCF): A funding approach where payments are made after climate change related outcomes are met and verified.

The following are key advantages of carbon taxes and carbon pricing:

• They generate revenue for governments to develop green energy
• Different fossil fuels can be taxed at different rates
• They provide social, economic, and environmental benefits

How Do Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Impact Your Carbon Footprint

Carbon taxes are a component of carbon pricing, so they both have the same purpose, impact, benefits, and effectiveness.

How Do Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Reduce Carbon Emissions

The goal of carbon pricing is to reduce carbon emissions in order to mitigate climate change.

• The carbon tax method of carbon pricing represents indirect emission reductions. A price is placed on emitting fossil fuels, which creates a monetary incentive to switch to greener forms of energy with less carbon emissions.

When you hear the words “carbon tax”, think about the term “price tag”. Governments set prices that emitters must pay for each metric ton equivalent of carbon they emit. Carbon taxes force emitters to take steps to reduce their emissions in order to avoid paying this tax. The less carbon they emit, the less money they spend, and the less carbon gets released into our atmosphere. 

What Impact Do Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Have on Your Own Carbon Emissions

One of the best ways we can aid in the fight against global climate change is to reduce our carbon footprint. And to do this we first have to reduce our own carbon emissions. 

• The carbon tax method of carbon pricing do not directly reduce your carbon footprint. 

Carbon taxes do not directly reduce your own carbon emissions. Putting a price tag on carbon emissions is an indirect method of emissions reduction because people can continue to emit as long as they pay the price. 

Coupled with direct measures of emission reductions, such as reducing individual energy usage and consumption, carbon taxes and cap and trade can become more effective. 

What Impact Do Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Have on Global Carbon Emissions

Every year we pump over 36 billion tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere, fueling climate change. This causes temperature and sea-level rise, melting of sea ice, changing precipitation patterns, and ocean acidification. Carbon taxes and carbon pricing aim to reduce global emissions and mitigate these negative environmental effects.

• The carbon tax method of carbon pricing works at the core issue of reducing overall CO₂ emissions. 

Carbon taxes have a significant impact on global carbon emissions. Carbon taxes internalize external costs on the environment by adding them onto the price of fossil fuels. In this way, the producer and consumer pays for the full price of fossil fuels, including external costs to the environment. Higher prices disincentivizes the use of carbon-intensive goods, which leads to a reduction in total carbon emissions. 

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered the largest decrease in energy-related carbon emissions since World War II, a decrease of 2 billion tons. However, emissions rebounded quickly at the end of 2020, with levels in December ending 60 million tons higher than those in December 2019. This indicates that the earth is still warming at an accelerated rate, and not enough is being done to implement clean energy practices. 

What Are the Environmental Benefits of Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing

Carbon taxes and carbon pricing can reduce our consumption of and reliance on fossil fuels, which can reduce the effects of global warming by limiting global greenhouse gas emissions. But it also comes with various environmental benefits.

• The carbon tax method of carbon pricing facilitates the switch to greener energy sources and promote energy independence. 

Carbon taxes incentivize companies to switch to greener energy sources including solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal energy. They do not emit CO₂, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, or mercury into the atmosphere, soil, or water. And these pollutants are known to contribute to the thinning of the ozone layer, global sea-level rise, and the melting of our world’s glaciers.

Switching from fossil fuels to green energy also promotes energy independence. Being able to produce your electricity without the aid of foreign countries is an important step in becoming more self-sufficient. 

How Effective Are Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing in Reducing Carbon Emissions

Carbon taxes and carbon pricing can be effective at reducing carbon emissions if they are used correctly.

• The carbon tax method of carbon pricing places a price directly on fossil fuels, which can  be effective at reducing global carbon emissions if there are contingencies in place to ensure increasing costs do not cause unnecessary hardships for people.

Carbon taxes are effective at reducing carbon emissions because they force emitters to pay for fossil fuel emissions. The money generated from a carbon tax could then be used to offset energy costs for low-income families, fund green energy technology, help combat climate change, or be given back to citizens as a dividend. But taxes can only be effective if they are complemented by programs that ensure people are not made worse off from increases in fossil fuel costs. Fossil fuels have been powering economies for over 150 years and currently supply approximately 80% of the world’s energy. Increasing the cost of fossil fuels could cause economic hardship for a large percentage of the world.

Why Are Both Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing Important to Fight Climate Change

Carbon taxes as a part of carbon pricing are important to fighting climate change because they are a way to reduce your carbon footprint. Reducing your carbon footprint is important because it mitigates the effects of climate change, which has a positive cascade effect on public health and plant and animal diversity. In addition, this boosts the global economy and leads to innovative, more environmentally-friendly solutions.

However, carbon taxes and carbon pricing should not be used as a panacea for climate change. Relying on carbon taxes won’t be enough because people can still pay the price to emit carbon.

In the long term, direct methods of carbon footprint reduction are much more effective. Reducing your household, travel, and lifestyle carbon footprint can go a long way in the fight against climate change!

What are Better Alternatives to Carbon Taxes and Carbon Pricing

If used correctly, carbon taxes and carbon pricing can provide environmental, economic, and social benefits that go beyond reducing carbon emissions. They have the potential to instigate meaningful environmental change and begin to reverse some of the effects of climate change. 

However, we can’t let these two methods be a guilt-free way to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon taxes and carbon pricing must be used in conjunction with direct carbon reduction measures until the industry has time to invest, develop, and refine more sustainable innovations. 

These reduction measures don’t have to involve drastic changes either. Actions that may seem small can have a big impact because those small changes add up! You can reduce your carbon footprint in three main areas of your life: household, travel, and lifestyle. 

Reduce your household footprint:

• Wash with cold water: Washing clothes in cold water could reduce carbon emissions by up to 11 million tons. Approximately 90% of the energy is used to heat the water, so switching to cold saves also saves energy.  

• Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs: Fluorescent bulbs use 75% less energy than incandescent ones, saving energy and thus reducing electricity demand and greenhouse gas emissions.

Reduce your travel footprint:

• Fly less: Aviation accounts for around 1.9% of global carbon emissions and 2.5% of CO₂. Air crafts run on jet gasoline, which is converted to CO₂ when burned.

• Walk or bike when possible: The most efficient ways of traveling are walking, bicycling, or taking the train. Using a bike instead of a car can reduce carbon emissions by 75%. These forms of transportation also provide lower levels of air pollution.

Reduce your lifestyle footprint:

• Switch to Renewable Energy Sources: The six most common types of renewable energy are solar, wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, and biomass energy. They are a substitute for fossil fuels that can reduce the effects of global warming by limiting global carbon emissions and other pollutants.

• Recycle: Recycling uses less energy and deposits less waste in landfills. Less manufacturing and transportation energy costs means less carbon emissions generated. Less waste in landfills means less CH₄ is generated.

• Switch from single-use to sustainable products: Reusing products avoids resource extraction, reduces energy use, reduces waste generation, and can prevent littering.

• Eat less meat and dairy: Meat and dairy account for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with beef and lamb being the most carbon-intensive. Globally, we consume much more meat than is considered sustainable, and switching to a vegan or vegetarian diet could reduce emissions. 

• Take shorter showers: Approximately 1.2 trillion gallons of water are used each year in the United States just for showering purposes, and showering takes up about 17% of residential water usage. The amount of water consumed and the energy cost of that consumption are directly related. The less water we use the less energy we use. And the less energy we use, the less of a negative impact we have on the environment.

Final Thoughts

In short, carbon taxes are one of several forms of carbon pricing. Carbon pricing captures the external costs of greenhouse gas emissions and ties them to their sources. Carbon taxes are fees placed directly on the burning of fossil fuels which creates a monetary disincentive for prolonged use and an incentive to switch to greener forms of energy. 

Together they are tools in our sustainability toolbox that can be used to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate climate change. But we should not rely on them to be a cure-all for our environmental problems. Direct measures of carbon emission reduction are much more effective in reducing emissions both in the short term and in the long term.

Stay impactful,

Sources

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