'There has been a significant shift across the country in terms of the seriousness with which people and legislators are confronting climate change,' Newell said. 'And that will continue to build beyond the focus on particular sectors.' 'There will be an increasing recognition that to really decarbonize the economy, across all sectors, there is going to be a need for some comprehensive policies,' he said. decarbonizes areas like the power sector and automotive sector, Newell says pressure on government regulation will intensify. 'There is also going to be a desire to raise revenue to deal with climate change, and for other public purposes, and carbon pricing does all those things,' Newell said. He added that while an economy-wide carbon fee would be the best solution, the administration could start by applying carbon fees to individual sectors.Īs the U.S. The plan was part of a larger agenda to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and transition to a n et-zero emissions economy. The Biden administration has a government-wide plan addressing how climate change could affect all sectors of the U.S. policy as the world grapples with the seriousness of climate change and turns more to financial incentives to reach a low-carbon ecosystem that supports the entire economy. He thinks a price on carbon ultimately is achievable as part of U.S. carbon policy,' says Richard Newell, president of Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan energy and environment research organization. 'But carbon import fees only make sense if you have some kind of domestic U.S. has considered carbon import fees and emissions trading that would apply to carbon-intensive products imported to the country. administration can't get behind the rest of the world on carbon pricing, there are other ways to follow through with the initiative, says Barker, such as regulations, taxes, and emissions trading. The Biden administration has outlined $555 billion in spending to confront climate change, though the plan does not address carbon pricing. The bill does include a proposed methane fee incentivizing oil and gas companies to reduce their methane emissions.Ī policy to apply a carbon tax was considered as a 'plan B' during negotiations over the current climate package, according to the New York Times, after Biden's clean electricity program was cut from the spending bill last month. Carbon pricing shifts the liability for the consequences of climate change to the polluters who are responsible, according to the World Bank. is not one of them.īarker told CNBC most economists agree that carbon pricing is the most effective tool there is to transition to a low carbon economy. 'We need countries to come together to agree on international standards in order to make that big shift to the low carbon economy,' Barker told CNBC in an interview from COP26 last week. 'It would be much better for the world if there was a common carbon price.'Īs of now, Barker says there are 69 countries with a carbon price ranging from $1 to $139 per metric ton. The U.S.

Carbon tax