Have any countries successfully used carbon taxes to reduce their emissions?
By EconoFact
View this fact brief on EconoFact
Copy link
Copy featured image
YES
After enacting carbon taxes, emissions declined in Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands relative to those in other 13 European countries without carbon taxes. Finland was the only country where the drop in emissions was statistically significant, probably because it has fewer industries exempted from the tax. In the case of a province within a country, British Columbia's emissions have decreased between 5% and 8% since the introduction of carbon taxes in 2008. Analysts from the U.S. Department of the Treasury estimated that if the U.S. were to implement an economy-wide carbon tax starting at $49 a ton in 2019, emissions could be reduced by as much as 21% over 10 years.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Research Papers in Economics Per capita CO2 emissions Carbon tax Tax exemption
US Treasury Methodology for Analyzing a Carbon Tax
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.