Companies are moving faster than many governments on carbon pricing

11 January 2018 – Economists have long argued that the most efficient way to curb global warming is to put a price on the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause it. A total of 41 OECD and G20 governments have announced either a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade scheme, or both. Add state and local schemes, and they cover 15% of the world’s emissions, up from 4% in 2010. Voters concerned about climate change are egging them on. So, too, are corporate bosses. More firms are imposing such pricing on themselves, even in places where policymakers are dragging their feet. Of the 6,100-odd firms which report climate-related data to CDP, 607 now claim to use “internal carbon prices,” either asking business units to pay a fee into a central pot based on their carbon footprint or through shadow carbon prices to stress-test investments for a world of government-mandated levies. Read the full article on The Economist website.