Unsuccessful carbon-pricing… until 2020
Carbon pricing is unpopular. Currently, carbon pricing experiments are only targeting the largest corporations in the EU or in some US states.
Until now, attempts of carbon pricing have been light on prices. Yes, corporations pay the carbon penalties, but then what? Whatever the plan, corporations will have to invest in green technologies (still costly) and add these new costs in output sale price. Altogether, investments to produce energy-efficiently have to be paid by end users, which includes low-income households.
After 2020, a serious carbon tax hike has happened, not because of courageous governmental enforcement, but because of the fast Covid recovery and because of the sanctions on Russia following the Ukraine War. Will punishing fossil fuel prices finally foster change? Will the inherent green economy grow fast enough to guarantee good wages for low-income households?