Next System Podcast on Carbon Tax
The Next System Podcast, which states that it “seeks to understand contemporary challenges, interrogate emerging possibilities, and begin imagining the next system”, recently interviewed Jeremiah Lowery and Camila Thorndyke of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network about their “Put a Price on it, D.C.” campaign. This campaign aims to institute a local carbon tax on dirty energy sources and redistribute the money raised largely via regular payments to residents, thus creating a local universal basic income (UBI).
Thorndyke says, “we’ve chosen to go with the most progressive revenue allocation possible”, explaining that, as the tax would mean a rise in energy prices, failing to pass on the money to residents would mean that “we’d be trying to solve the climate crisis off the backs of the poor”. Lowery adds, “increasing inequality actually leads to more devastation and more climate change.
Edited by: Caroline Pearce
