“Your carbon emissions smell like farts; ours smell like roses”

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“Your carbon emissions smell like farts; ours smell like roses”

Friday, September 11th, 2009 | Environment |

Financial Times - Sarkozy calls for carbon tax on imports.

The French president has in the past sparked accusations of protectionism after calling for European import tariffs on products from countries that do not abide by international targets on carbon emission reductions.

On Thursday economists warned that such an initiative – likely to be supported by some European countries such as Italy – could have catastrophic consequences for the ongoing attempts to strike a global trade deal.

“This would put the developed world on a collision course with China, India and other developing countries. It could do serious damage to the international trade system,” said Simon Tilford, chief economist of the Centre for European reform. “It would be seen as naked protectionism.”

If you raise the price of your own country’s goods with a carbon tax, you have to tax imports or you’ll disadvantage your domestic manufacturing base. But of course you don’t have the ability to do the same thing in outside markets, so your own products will be at a disadvantage in a global economy. This is why you don’t put a carbon tax on your country’s products. Only a fool doesn’t see that.

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