Comments TobyHeaps has made

  • Quick Clarification

    The guest contributor says that the Global Carbon Tax op-ed applies a double standard with respect to the risk of inviting carbon import tarriffs (countervailing duties, retalitory action).
    It doesn't. The key difference is that a well designed carbon tax is much easier to track and verify, whereas a cap-and-trade system is not. So in the murky world of trade politics, the uncertainty of verifying and tracking how particular nations applied cap and trade programs, especially in developing countries, would leave plenty of room for accusations by protectionist forces against countries that might be making best efforts--in effect sending them the message "damned if we do, damned if we don't." Sticks like carbon import tarriffs are most effective when they are not used because the rules for how you avoid them are clear.
     Cheers TobyOn More misleading salvos in the great carbon tax debate posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago 7 Responses

  • the carbon tax is not toast

     
    When all's said and done, the carbon tax is not toast. Declaring the death of the carbon tax because the Canadian Liberal leader failed to win his underdog attempt to become Prime Minister conflates the carbon tax's importance to the Canadian election. Stephan Dion never needed a carbon tax to end up with 76 seats. A political party with one foot still in the doghouse (from the Liberal sponsorship scandal), divided within (with the Iggy and Rae leadership hopefuls) and without with the Green Party/NDP surge was perfectly capable of ending up with 76 seats, or even less, all by itself without any carbon tax. One lesson that might be taken is that something as game-changing as a carbon tax requires a frank ask (an appeal to sacrifice for the greater good), rather than a shoddy sell (emphasising personal tax cuts, which nobody really believes before it happens) that is the bane of our short-term transactional politics. Until that is tried, as Mark Twain might say, rumours of the carbon tax's death have been greatly exaggerated.On Canada's election deals defeat to Liberal Party and carbon tax posted 1 year, 1 month ago 7 Responses