03/22/2019
Carbon Tax Debate at Trinity College April 11
Should Connecticut adopt a tax on the use of carbon fuels—coal, oil, gasoline and natural gas—as part of the Connecticut New Green Deal now being discussed in the General Assembly? A carbon tax might be a key tool in curbing climate change, but it will come with far-reaching environmental, economic and social consequences. Advocates see it as way to oblige economic actors to face the actual long-term costs of burning fossil fuels, as well as providing strong incentive to find new fuel sources without creating elaborate new regulatory structures.
The Trinity College Program on Public Values will present a panel of economic, legal, and political experts discussing proposals to tax carbon fuels at a forum for the public and policy makers on Thursday, April 11, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in McCook Auditorium at Trinity College.
Economists often argue that the present pricing of carbon fuels is far lower than the actual, long-term costs of burning them. They see a carbon tax on those who use carbon fuels as the most efficient approach to induce users to reckon with the actual costs and provide incentives for industry, commerce, and citizens to shift rapidly toward non-carbon energy. This view is shared by many policy analysts, environmentalists, politicians, citizens, and business people. However, there are also many skeptics, ranging from those who don’t want to pay what could be a substantial tax on their energy use to those who doubt that a market-placed strategy like carbon taxation can move society away from fossil fuel consumption rapidly enough to prevent drastic and rapid global climate change.
The speakers at the panel will be: Kenneth Gillingham, associate professor of environmental and energy economics at Yale University; Karl Rábago, professor of law and executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center at Pace University; State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport); and Jan Ellen Spiegel, a distinguished Connecticut environment journalist. Mark Silk, professor of religion in public life at Trinity College, will serve as moderator.
During the forum, Professor Gillingham will support a Connecticut carbon tax and Professor Rábago will focus on problems with the tax. Rep. Steinberg is a sponsor of a Connecticut carbon tax bill. Spiegel will provide a journalist’s assessment of the political realities of carbon tax legislation.
For further information, contact Andrew Walsh at 860-297-5354 or [email protected]
