this post was submitted on 01 Sep 2023
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A carbon tax does a better job at incentivizing low-carbon alternatives at all scales, from trains and more efficient airplanes down to e-bikes.
the carbon tax for one kg should be set at 110% the cost to remove one kg, 100% to completely remove it, and 10% to help remove past emissions, which statistically the emitter probably emitted pre-tax anyways
The problem is that for fossil fuels, there is no good way to "completely remove" them. Most of the "carbon neutral" ads are plain greenwashing. But taxing it would be a good step nonetheless.
Put these taxes into research?
From what we know about physics and chemistry so far, it looks like there is no magical way to reverse this, that wouldn't require a huge amount of energy, resources and effort. Also, it's a bit to late to put money into research now. We know what to to do and how to "fix" things but we don't like the consequences so we (mostly) keep going as if nothing is wrong.
Carbon capturing is certainly possible. It isnβt worth it economically yet. Further research should make it cheaper. Meanwhile we will (hopefully) increase the CO2 tax. At some point it becomes economically worthwhile and companies will emerge to earn that money.
I didn't say it's not possible. I said it's not possible to undo what we've done and what we're still doing. It won't be fixed by removing the excessive CO2 from the atmosphere. Besides, I also think that it's not feasible at the required scale.