Democrats demand tax on imports from polluting countries

[ad_1]

Carbon boundary taxes are also designed to protect domestic manufacturing. If a country commits to reducing emissions domestically, it risks, for example, that its steel and cement plants face higher costs and be at a disadvantage to foreign competitors with more flexible environmental rules. As a result, steel and cement production could shift abroad, undermining climate policy, as foreign plants would emit as much or more carbon dioxide elsewhere.

“This legislation will affirm American leadership on the climate crisis, but we also cannot be the ‘sucker uncle’ where other countries, led by China, benefit from what we will be asking our country to do,” Mr. Markey said. .

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, said he included the tariff because it “prevents other states from polluting.”

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases that lead to global warming, followed by the United States, the European Union, India, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Iran and Canada in descending order.

Scientists have warned that the world urgently needs to cut emissions if it has any chance of keeping average global temperatures from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to pre-industrial levels. This is the threshold beyond which experts say the planet will suffer catastrophic and irreversible damage. The temperature change is not even worldwide; Some regions have already reached a 2°C increase.

President Biden has promised to cut US greenhouse gas emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Senate leadership aide said the Biden administration had raised the idea of ​​a carbon cap tax with lawmakers. Earlier this year, I floated the idea of ​​taxing carbon-intensive imports as part of a broader trade policy.

The budget decision has not yet been written. This work will be carried out by various committees in the coming months.

[ad_2]