Protecting the poor with a carbon tax and equal per capita dividend

Mark Budolfson (1) , Francis Dennig (2) , Frank Errickson (3) , Simon Feindt (4) , Maddalena Ferranna (5) , Marc Fleurbaey (6) , David Klenert (7) , Ulrike Kornek (8) , Kevin Kuruc (9) , Aurélie Méjean (10) , Wei Peng (11) , Noah Scovronick (12) , Dean Spears (13) , Fabian Wagner (14) , Stéphane Zuber (15, 16)

1 Rutgers University [Newark]
2 Yale-NUS College
3 Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
4 MCC - Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change
5 Harvard School of Public Health
6 PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques
7 JRC - European Commission - Joint Research Centre [Seville]
8 CAU - Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel = Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel = Université Christian-Albrechts de Kiel
9 OU - University of Oklahoma
10 CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement
11 Penn State - Pennsylvania State University
12 Emory University [Atlanta, GA]
13 University of Texas at Austin [Austin]
14 IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis [Laxenburg]
15 PSE - Paris School of Economics
16 CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne

We find that if all countries adopt the necessary uniform global carbon tax and then return the revenues to their citizens on an equal per capita basis, it will be possible to meet a 2 °C target while also increasing wellbeing, reducing inequality and alleviating poverty. These results indicate that it is possible for a society to implement strong climate action without compromising goals for equity and development.

Domaines: Economies et finances; Environnement et Société

Mark Budolfson, Francis Dennig, Frank Errickson, Simon Feindt, Maddalena Ferranna, et al.. Protecting the poor with a carbon tax and equal per capita dividend. Nature Climate Change, 2021, 11, pp.1025-1026. ⟨10.1038/s41558-021-01228-x⟩. ⟨halshs-03462781⟩