Flawed, but better than nothing

I must say from the outset that it's a while since I looked into the Carbon Tax, but here's my take (and I've read differing views on it recently).

There is no denying that despite the fact it's levied on businesses, the cost will be passed on to the consumer. But it's to a limited degree and in all the right ways. We have competition to thank for that. Here's a short simplified example of how it WILL benefit the environment.

Let's take Power Company A. Just imagine it's whoever you're with. At the moment, Power Company A has mostly coal electricity. Green Power options are more expensive to research and develop, than coal, so they mostly don't bother. In the long run, green power is cheap. It's just expensive to set up at the beginning. And since Power Company A doesn't want to spend yummy profit, they stick with coal.

At first, all the companies cost about the same price. The next day, the Carbon Tax kicks in. From then on, it's going to be getting more expensive to keep using coal. No problem - Power Company A can just jack up the price to the customer, and keep using delicious coal, right? And then... and then Electricity Provider B see what Power Company A just did and think... hmmm, we think we'd like to steal their customers. We think it's worth spending some yummy profit this year, to make things cheaper next year, so that we can lower our prices and steal customers.

So they spend some delicious profit to invest in green, and they pass that investment cost onto the customers. At first, nothing much changes, both companies cost about the same. But in a little while, Electricity Provider B's investment is paid off, and they can lower their prices to the customers. WOOHOO says Mr Customer. I'm switching to the company that costs less.

Simple, right? Although you might have thought companies don't care, because they can just pass the increase onto the customers anyway, there is competition and that makes companies grow a conscience. Even if the conscience is a fake one and is all about greedy profits, they'll still do it.

Secondly - a direct result if the power goes up in price - consumers cry at their bills, and then they install solar panels and turn off lights and yell at their kids for staying in the shower for half an hour. These are all wins for the environment.

And then we have things like electronics providers. As the cost of power goes up with Power Company A, customers will be desperately searching for ways to reduce consumption. They'll be buying energy-efficient light globes, and so on. And if Television Company C starts advertising a TV that uses 10% less power, customers will bloody well go and buy it. So it's in Random TV Company D's selfish interests to spend yummy profit on researching ways to make their tellies that use less power - if they don't, they'll just go out of business because nobody will buy their TVs!

I don't think the Carbon Tax was the most efficient way to reduce greenhouse emissions. But we have to remember, it had to be put together in a way that could get past the voters. Let's be honest, the more efficient ways would have made everyone scream and run around like chooks with their heads cut off, and vote for Fred Nile or something stupid like that. Carbon Tax is a disguised, convoluted, magical mystery option, but at least it's something. And it's working - the number of solar panels on roofs is skyrocketing.

Now if only they'd grow a pair, and make those panels compulsory on all new buildings...