forbidden words: carbon pricing

carbon pricing

Carbon pricing (or CO₂ pricing) is a method for governments to mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, the main driver of climate change. A carbon price usually takes the form of a carbon tax, or an emissions trading scheme (ETS) that requires firms to purchase allowances to emit.^[1] The method is widely agreed to be an efficient policy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon pricing seeks to address the economic problem that emissions of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases are a negative externality – a detrimental product that is not charged for by any market.

21.7% of global GHG emissions are covered by carbon pricing in 2021, a major increase due to the introduction of the Chinese national carbon trading scheme.^[2][3] Regions with carbon pricing include most European countries and Canada. On the other hand, top emitters like India, Russia, the Gulf states and many US states have not introduced carbon pricing.^[4] Australia had a carbon pricing scheme from 2012 to 2014. In 2020, carbon pricing generated $53B in revenue.^[5]

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a price level of $135–$5500 in 2030 and $245–$13,000 per metric ton CO₂ in 2050 would be needed to drive carbon emissions to stay below the 1.5°C limit.^[6] Latest models of the social cost of carbon calculate a damage of more than $300 per ton of CO₂ as a result of economy feedbacks and falling global GDP growth rates, while policy recommendations range from about $50 to $200.^[7]: 2 Many carbon pricing schemes including the ETS in China remain below $10 per ton of CO₂.^[3] One exception is the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) which exceeded €100 ($108) per ton of CO₂ in February 2023.^[8]

A carbon tax is generally favoured on economic grounds for its simplicity and stability, while cap-and-trade theoretically offers the possibility to limit allowances to the remaining carbon budget. Current implementations are only designed to meet certain reduction targets.

Overview

Carbon pricing is considered by many economists to be the most economically efficient way to reduce emissions,^[9][10] taking into account the costs of both efficiency measures and the inconvenience of lesser fossil fuels. By pricing the externalities of carbon emissions, efficiency comes about by eliminating the market failure of the unpriced external costs of carbon emissions at its source.^[11] It is regarded as more efficient than renewable energy subsidies given to individual firms,^{[citation needed]} because the difficulties of determining the value of emissions to each firm makes command and control regulation less likely to be efficient.^[12]

In a carbon tax model, a tax is imposed on carbon emissions produced by a firm. In a cap-and-trade design, the government establishes an emissions cap and allocates to firms emission allowances, which can thereafter be privately traded. Emitters without the required allowances face a penalty more than the price of permits. Assuming all else is equal, the market for permits will automatically adjust the carbon price to a level that ensures that the cap is met.^[13][14] The EU ETS uses this method. In practice, it has resulted in a fairly strong carbon price from 2005 to 2009, but that was later undermined by an oversupply and the Great Recession. Recent policy changes have led to a steep increase of the carbon price since 2018, exceeding 100€ ($118) per ton of CO₂ in February 2023.^[8]

Evaluations of 21 carbon pricing schemes, show that at least 17 of these have caused reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The achieved emissions reductions range between 5% and 21% for the studied schemes.^[15]

The exact monetary damage of the social cost caused by a tonne of CO₂ depends on climate and economic feedback effects and remains to some degree uncertain. Latest calculations show an increasing trend:

Source	Year	Carbon price per ton of CO2	Remarks
Interagency Working Group (US government)[16]	2013 / 2016	$42	Central estimate for 3% discount rate in 2020
		$212	High impact value for 2050 / 3% discount / 95th percentile
German Environmental Agency[17]	2019	$213 (180 €)	With 1% time preference
		$757 (640 €)	Without time preference
Kikstra et al.[7]: 22	2021	$3372	Including economic feedbacks

see more at — Wikipedia contributors. (2025b, November 27). Carbon price. 

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Why Carbon Pricing Is the Missing Link in U.S. Climate Policy, According to a New Study

A new academic study is challenging one of the most comfortable assumptions in climate policy: that generous incentives alone can deliver deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers from the University of California San Diego and Princeton University modeled what happens when governments combine subsidies for clean energy with taxes or fees on greenhouse gas pollution.

“This work helps make our climate models more realistic about how governments actually behave. For years, models have told us what’s economically efficient—but not what’s politically possible. Our goal is to bridge that gap so policymakers can craft strategies that survive real-world politics.” said the study’s co-author David Victor, professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and co-director of UC San Diego’s Deep Decarbonization Initiative (D2I).

Their conclusion is blunt. Incentives can drive rapid adoption of cleaner technologies early on, but without pricing for carbon and methane emissions long-term decarbonization stalls.

The work, published in Nature Climate Change, breaks new ground by simulating policy mixes that more closely resemble how governments actually behave. Most economic models still assume a single, economy-wide carbon price, even though few countries have ever adopted one. The new modeling instead tests sequences of incentives, penalties and political reversals across all 50 U.S. states through 2050.

The results suggest that stable subsidies for electric vehicles, renewable power and clean manufacturing can sharply reduce emissions in the near term by lowering costs and speeding deployment. But the biggest gains come when those carrots are later paired with sticks that make fossil fuels progressively more expensive.

Timing also matters. When incentives are delayed, repealed or restarted, investment slows and emissions cuts later become more costly. Consistent policy, the study finds, can put the energy system on track for roughly an 80% reduction in emissions by mid-century.

The findings arrive as U.S. climate policy faces renewed uncertainty. Clean energy tax credits enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act are under political pressure, while a federal carbon tax remains off the table. That stands in contrast to Europe, where emissions trading has steadily tightened, and China, which is expanding both clean energy subsidies and carbon pricing mechanisms.

International agencies such as the International Energy Agency have similarly warned that subsidies alone cannot deliver net-zero goals without measures that discourage continued fossil fuel use. The new research adds modeling evidence to that broader global debate, underscoring that climate success depends not just on ambition, but on durable policy design that survives real-world politics.

Read more: EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Goes Live, Raising Trade Stakes

from — Velev, V., & Velev, V. (2026, January 5). Why carbon pricing is the missing link in U.S. climate policy, according to a new study. Carbon Herald. 

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carbon

carbon noun

1. Chemistry. a widely distributed element that forms organic compounds in combination with hydrogen, oxygen, etc., and that occurs in a pure state as diamond and graphite, and in an impure state as charcoal. C; 12.011; 6; (of diamond) 3.51 at 20°C; (of graphite) 2.26 at 20°C.

2. carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds that are emitted into the atmosphere and cause rising temperatures.

   the carbon produced by burning fossil fuels.

3. carbon copy.

4. a sheet of carbon paper.

5. Electricity.

   1. the carbon rod through which current is conducted between the electrode holder and the arc in carbon arc lighting or welding.

   2. the rod or plate, composed in part of carbon, used in batteries.

carbon, adj

pertaining to or noting the element carbon or any of its compounds, especially carbon dioxide.

to reduce carbon emissions.

Discover More

Carbon forms the basis for all living tissue.

Other Word Forms

• carbonless adjective
• carbonous adjective
• noncarbon noun

Etymology

Origin of carbon

1780–90; < French carbone, coinage based on Latin carbōn- (stem of carbō ) charcoal

from — Definition of carbon. (n.d.). Dictionary.com

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pricing

pricing noun

Pricing is the process whereby a business sets and displays the price at which it will sell its products and services and may be part of the business’s marketing plan. In setting prices, the business will take into account the price at which it could acquire the goods, the manufacturing cost, the marketplace, competition, market condition, brand, and quality of the product.

Pricing is a fundamental aspect of product management and is one of the four Ps of the marketing mix, the other three aspects being product, promotion, and place. Price is the only revenue generating element among the four Ps, the rest being cost centers. However, the other Ps of marketing will contribute to decreasing price elasticity and so enable price increases to drive greater revenue and profits.

Pricing can be a manual or automatic process of applying prices to purchase and sales orders, based on factors such as a fixed amount, quantity break, promotion or sales campaign, specific vendor quote, price prevailing on entry, shipment or invoice date, a combination of multiple orders or lines, and many others. An automated pricing system requires more setup and maintenance but may prevent pricing errors. The needs of the consumer can be converted into demand only if the consumer has the willingness and capacity to buy the product. Thus, pricing is the most important concept in the field of marketing, it is used as a tactical decision in response to changing competitive, market and organizational situations.

from — Wikipedia contributors. (2025c, December 22). Pricing. Wikipedia. 

January 5th, 2025
Hudson Valley, New York

This is one of the words/ phrases you can’t say in the new Trump Regime. See a comprehensive list at the Forbidden Words Project.

image: green scene © Holly Troy 2025

The list has now expanded to 350+ words, encompassing even desirable goals like “safe drinking water,” the mention of which can now result in research grants or other agreements with the federal government getting nixed.  Some agencies ordered the removal of specific words from public-facing websites or the elimination of other materials (including school curricula) in which they might be included. In other cases, federal agencies used key words to flag materials for further review or asked staff to limit or avoid their usage. In a December court filing, Head Start provided a list of nearly 200 words and phrases it told administrators to avoid. 

from — Connelly, E. A. (2025, December 22). Federal Government’s Growing Banned Words List Is Chilling Act of Censorship. PEN America.