For many years wonky economic language has helped to hobble, one surmises from the perspective of this resident of the US, efforts to make industries pay for damage their activities cause even if they are diffuse and don’t have any built-in impact on their bills for production or delivery of whatever it is they sell. For example, the oil industry and coal industry that do not internalize the longterm costs to future economic growth imposed by the climatic side effects of their products.
In Australia today, amid a flood of reporting on a vote by slim margin to tax carbon at the rate of $23 (Australian, very close to $US) per ton of emission – higher than Europe’s carbon markets are running at now – along comes the more pointed and perhaps palatable “Social license to operate” concept. OK, it’s an Op-Ed in the Sydney Morning Herald by one Katherine Teh-White, id’d as managing director of a management consulting firm devoted to, um, social licenses to operate. The idea, far as I can tell, is the same as that behind effort to internalize, within the balance sheets of companies, the costs to society as a whole that are traceable to things such as pollution. One has no belief that mere relabeling will change the business and philosophical and political dynamic stalling meaningful government acceleration of a sustainable new industrial age. But it might make some difference. I’ve thought calling such economic incentive an aerial sewage tax is an honest way to put it. But maybe this social license idea is more felicitious on the ear. And,, one must concede, putting the word “social” on anything the government tells people to do, for their own good, will make even more smoke pour out of the ears of America’s rising right wing school of dogmatic purity. Too bad we can’t put a tax on that kind of smoke. It might balance the budget. Plus, it’s anybody’s guess whether Australian will wind up rescinding this tax as smoke comes flying out the ears of some of its own citizenry.
Other news on Australia’s new carbon tax:
- Telegraph (UK) Jonathan Pearlman: Australian carbon tax passed in Senate ; Filed from Sydney.
- AP – Australian Senate passes carbon tax on 500 largest polluters, breaking PM’s election-year vow.
- Independent (UK) Kathy Marks: Australia comes clean after deal on carbon emissions cap ;
- BBC – Australia Senate backs carbon tax;
– Charlie Petit
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