Can We Price Carbon? (American and Comparative Environmental Policy) Paperback – 6 April 2018

This is an excellent book covering all forms of carbon pricing for the purpose of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Although it covers excise and severance taxes, it focusses on Cap & Trade C&T) and Carbon Taxation schemes which have occurred throughout the last 30 years both inside and outside the US. There is a detailed historical account of all major C&T and carbon taxation schemes mainly in the US, Canada, and Europe, with an emphasis on why they worked or failed over their time of implementation. One thing which sets this book apart from others is an emphasis on the political or partisan influences which would tend to block initial implementation of a policy, cause the policy to fail over time, or not make allowances for adequate management of the policy once adopted.The material in this book stands alone as a good source on information. I would recommend in the next edition a bullet summary at the beginning of each chapter containing the main points contained in the chapters. I would also like to see a bold summary chapter integrating the lessons learned from all the "successful" and failed systems to serve as a guide in the in the formulation of policies that are sorely needed right now to address the global warming crisis at hand.

“Can We Price Carbon?” That’s not a rhetorical question.Jurisdictions around the globe have struggled for more than two decades to price carbon emissions. The results are mixed and frankly disappointing, judging by the number of policy failures, the small tonnage of CO2 emissions avoided or the global trend of rising emissions. But failure analysis can be a powerful teacher. The Wright brothers crashed a few airplanes and had to re-think their design before they built one that could stay aloft even for a short distance. Thus, meticulous analysis of carbon pricing policy experiments would be reason enough to recommend “Can We Price Carbon?,” by Barry Rabe, professor of political science at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. But Professor Rabe’s new book offers much more. It’s a thorough, readable, balanced and remarkably well-documented comparative overview of attempts at carbon pricing policy, primarily in North America, with abbreviated examinations of carbon pricing attempts elsewhere, all viewed through the lens of political science.James HandleyCarbonTaxNetwork.org