The world's corporations produce so much climate change pollution, it could eat up about 44% of their profits if they had to pay damages for it, according to a study by economists of nearly 15,000 public companies.
What would that even do? Sure, you can tax the companies for their CO2 emissions, but they’d still be in profit, and monetary compensation to the state won’t make the CO2 disappear. Money isn’t some magical paper that will suddenly reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere if you throw it in the air, it’s just a currency, banked labor hours.
It would discourage CO2 emissions immensely. The tax money could also be used to promote green technology that do not emit nearly as much CO2 and also possibly plants that pull carbon out of the atmosphere.
What would that even do? Sure, you can tax the companies for their CO2 emissions, but they’d still be in profit, and monetary compensation to the state won’t make the CO2 disappear. Money isn’t some magical paper that will suddenly reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere if you throw it in the air, it’s just a currency, banked labor hours.
It would discourage CO2 emissions immensely. The tax money could also be used to promote green technology that do not emit nearly as much CO2 and also possibly plants that pull carbon out of the atmosphere.