Carbon Pricing has finally been recognized as a legitimate way to combat climate change by G20 leaders, in a communique released Saturday. Country officials have been slow to release details on directly combatting climate change, mainly due to influence from the Trump administration. However, the “Biden Effect” is coming into play in international climate change decisions resulting in open discussions.
The communique mentioned “the use of carbon pricing mechanisms and incentives” as an appropriate way to combat global warming. This is the first-time carbon pricing has been mentioned as a solution to climate change according to French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, a staunch supporter of carbon pricing.
Biden is considering different measures to reduce carbon emissions according to U.S. treasury secretary Janet Yellen. One such solution does involve putting a base price on carbon emissions. This price would then act as a baseline for other countries to erect their own carbon pricing methods. This differs from Mr. Le Maire’s idea of having a global floor for all carbon prices throughout the world.
It is still early to see how G20 leaders will proceed in their carbon pricing measures as the EU will introduce tariffs on carbon imports on July 14, the first of its kind in the world. There is a new found optimism from the international community on the use of carbon pricing as a means to combat climate change.
