Malagent’s Domain

It looks like the Global Warming taxes are going to start soon…

San Francisco: The Bay Area Air Quality Management District will vote today on a proposal to impose a Greenhouse Gas Fee. The fee applies to carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions at the rate of 4.4¢(USD) per metric ton and is expected to initially produce an additional $1.1 million for the District.[1]

It’s all part of a plan that “would increase revenue to enable the District to address increasing regulatory program activity costs, and continue to move toward more complete cost recovery”[1]

The BAAQMD’s website describes “Environmental Justice” (emphasis mine)

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is committed to environmental policymaking and enforcement practices that are fair and equitable to all residents regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location in order to protect against the health effects of air pollution. [2]

The way the proposal is set up it could effect a lot more than carbon dioxide and the other listed greenhouse gases. Consider that water vapor is the most powerful GHG. I’m not sure what the “carbon dioxide equivalent” or “global warming potential” of water vapor is but, imagine a “carbon tax” based on the steam from showers or cooking.

Interestingly the supporters of this measure seem to be concerned with the precedent it will set than with the actual impact it would have on the environment.

The modest fee — 4.4 cents per ton of carbon dioxide — probably won’t be enough to force companies to reduce their emissions, but backers say it sets an important precedent in combating climate change and could serve as a model for regional air districts nationwide.

“It doesn’t solve global warming, but it gets us thinking in the right terms,” said Daniel Kammen, a renewable energy expert at the University of California, Berkeley. “It’s not enough of a cost to change behavior, but it tells us where things are headed. You have to think not just in financial terms, but in carbon terms.” [3]

1. Final Staff Report and Draft Amendments to Regulation 3: http://www.baaqmd.gov/pln/ruledev/3/2008/0300_sr&dr_052008.pdf
2. BAAQMD.goc - Environmental Justice: http://www.baaqmd.gov/pio/environmental_justice/index.htm
3. Regulators in California to vote on global warming fees charged to businesses for emissions, International Herald Tribune, May 21, 2008: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/21/america/NA-GEN-US-Global-Warming-Fees.php