OK, for the sake of this thread, let's ASSUME that anthropogenic climate change is real, is caused by our carbon emissions, and that it will result in horrible consequences. Please don't make this thread about whether or not it's real in the first place. If you don't believe in anthropogenic climate change, treat this like a thought experiment.
How would you go about reducing our emissions?
One idea I heard on Planet Money today, though it was a rebroadcast, was charming in its simplicity. You just tax carbon emissions directly and proportionally to the amount of carbon emitted. This means gasoline, concrete, electricity, natural gas, food, and almost everything else would get more expensive in proportion to the amount of carbon emitted to make that item available to the consumer. Sounds horribly destructive to the economy, right?
But you collect all that tax revenue and redistribute it evenly across the whole population. So the average (mean) consumer would pay $X amount and receive back $X. A high carbon user would pay $X+100, but only get back X, while someone who rides their bike everywhere, keeps their lights turned off during the day, etc. might pay $X-100, but still receive X back. You could do this either as a check the government cuts at the end of the year, or you could do it as an income tax reduction.
This would encourage people towards more carbon-friendly behaviors and discourage them from carbon unfriendly behaviors while not reducing the total spending power of the economy at all.
Anyone have thoughts on that proposal or a proposal of their own?