To Nudge, or Adjudge? That’s the Enviro-Policy Question
Ensuing America’s election of Donald Trump, many Canadian energy producers are feeling ill at ease about our nation’s future environmental policy. This sudden apprehension surfaced after realizing the U.S’ new position on energy. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, has repeatedly denied the existence of climate change, and has expressed his will to repeal some of America’s current environmental regulations. In sharp contrast, Ottawa announced plans to impose a controversial national carbon tax, which aims to charge $50 per tonne of carbon emitted by 2022, according to BNN. The Canadian energy industry is imploring our government to rethink carbon taxes as it will curb their leverage with the U.S, our biggest trading partner. This article uses insights from behavioral economics to propose the implementation of nudges as a more innovative solution to traditional carbon taxes.
References
Allcott, H, (2011) Social norms and energy conservation, Journal of Public Economics, 95,, 1082-1095.
Galle, B. (2013). Tax, Command or Nudge: Evaluating the New Regulation. Tex. L. Rev., 92, 837.
Gaunt, M., T. Rye & S. Allen, (2007). Public acceptability of road user charging: The case of edinburgh and the 2005 Referendum.” Transport Reviews, 27, 85–102.
Newell, R. G., & Siikamäki, J. V. (2013). Nudging energy efficiency behavior: The role of information labels. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Ouvrard, B., & Spaeter, S. (2016). Environmental Incentives: Nudge or Tax? (No. 2016.15).
About the Author
Arash Sharma
Arash is a Behavioural Scientist at the Government of Canada.
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