Put a Price on Carbon

One of the critical global challenges of today is changing global climate which needs to be urgently addressed.  Many believe that putting a price on carbon can help in limiting the increase in global mean temperature and doing it adequately and urgently can limit the raise to within two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. There are various policy instruments which can be used for pricing carbon and mitigate GHG  emissions efficiently and cost effectively, such as carbon taxes, use of a social cost of carbon and/or payments for emission reductions depending on each country’s different circumstances and priorities.

In the recently concluded UN Climate Summit at New York, large number of leaders across the world supported carbon pricing which included 73 countries, 11 regions  (responsible for 54 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions & 52 % of GDP ) and more than thousand companies and investors (with more than $24 trillion in assets) were in support of putting a price on carbon which will provide markets with solutions to climate issues. The nations like China, Russia, The Philippines, Nauru, etc joined with many states, provinces and cities, NGOs and businesses like LG Electronics, Nokia to support carbon pricing.

“By supporting a price on carbon, leaders from across the political and business world have come together to send a strong signal that they will build their economies for a safer, cleaner, and more prosperous planet,” said Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group. “Today we see real momentum. Governments representing almost half of the world’s population and 52 percent of the global GDP have thrown their weight behind a price on carbon as a necessary, if insufficient, solution to climate change and a step on the path to low carbon growth.”

Countries have expressed support including by aligning themselves with the Put a Price on Carbon Statement.  Businesses have expressed support by aligning themselves with the Put a Price on Carbon Statement, the Carbon Price Communiqué, the Caring for Climate Initiative, and the 2014 Global Investor Statement on Climate Change. Twenty-eight NGOs have also aligned with the Put a Price on Carbon Statement, as has ICLEI, a network of over 1,000 cities dedicated to sustainable development. This support will help to drive investments in a cleaner economy, and make way for other climate actions. Carbon pricing has at the potential to bring down emissions in a way that will support clean energy and low-carbon growth at the same time giving businesses the flexibility to make innovative and efficient choices.

For more information, please go to – http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/09/22/73-countries-1000-companies-investors-support-price-carbon