by Charles Komanoff (Huffington Post) The Carbon Tax Center is out with a new report timed to the surging climate movement. We surveyed all 50 U.S. states (and Washington, DC) to identify the ones with the most favorable conditions for enacting a statewide carbon tax. Joining the report is a toolkit to help advocates push for a carbon tax in their state.
Campaigns for state carbon taxes educate the public and advance the idea on the policy map. A carbon tax in one or more states will create facts on the ground that can appeal to Left and Right alike and upend the climate stalemate.
The world’s leading climate experts agree that putting a price on carbon emissions is essential for slowing and eventually stopping global warming. The artificial marketplace advantage of unpriced carbon pollution has helped coal, oil and gas gain a stranglehold over our economic system and social structures. Charging these fuels for their climate damage is the fastest path to the clean energy future that we need to protect our cities, coasts and civilization from climate devastation.
Enacting a carbon tax in a single state can be a gateway toward the ultimate remedy: a national carbon tax.
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Residents of these states — indeed, residents of all states — must speak up, advocate, and demand that their lawmakers take action; in many states citizens can also act directly through ballot measures. Our report and toolkit explain where, why and how.
The Eight Strongest Prospects For State Carbon Taxes (listed alphabetically)
Connecticut
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District of Columbia
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Hawaii
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Illinois
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Maryland
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Massachusetts
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New York
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Washington
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