Comment Log Display

Here's an alternative that is worth considering. It could be
referred to as feebates, since it calls for a combination of fees
and rebates, which I believe works most effectively. Rather than
prescribing feebates, though, the proposed overall alternative
allows its implementation to a large extent to be decided locally.


1. Fees are imposed on polluting products, as a percentage added to
the price paid by the consumer. Obvious products are gasoline,
electricity produced from fossil fuel, vehicles and equipment that
(comparatively) cause a lot of emissions. Such fees could be
collected by the Board of Equalization or by a Fund to be set up
for this purpose. 

2. The revenues of these fees are then distributed back to the
city, county or district where they were collected, provided the
respective area manages to reduce emissions locally by a certain
percentage, set equally across the state for all areas. 

3. Where an area fails to meet the target percentage reduction,
part of the revenue will default to the state in accordance with
the gravity of the failure. In such cases, revenues will be used
for state-wide programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gases. 

4. Areas that exceed targets will also be offered the (optional)
opportunity to collect fees locally, e.g. as part of feebate
programs that make vehicles registration more expensive for the
most polluting vehicles and less expensive for the cleanest
vehicles. 

The provision under 2. will survive under 4., to encourage that
revenues are used for effective local programs to electrify
transport and offer rebates on clean energy facilities, feed-in
tariffs, etc. State-wide set target percentages could be reviewed
regularly, say annually. Areas that exceed the target can use their
surplus toward their target the following year. 

Feebates are most commonly known in the vehicle sector, but they
can be equally applied in other sectors. Feebates are attractive
because they can be implemented by changing the existing sales tax
system, rather than by introducing new taxes. The combination of
fees and rebates minimizes leakage. Feebates can also be
implemented on a budget-neutral way.