What Do Americans Really Think About Carbon Taxes?

Most Americans support action on climate change.

Leiserowitz et. al., Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.


Among economists from all sectors, most agree taxing carbon pays off.

Fuller, D. and Geide-Stevenson, D., Consensus Among Economists-An Update, The Journal of Economic Education, 45(2), 131–146.


Support for government action to cut carbon pollution is highest among economists who have studied climate change

Howard, P. and Sylvan, D. The Economic Climate: Establishing Consensus on the Economics of Climate Change (2015).


Will the public accept a carbon tax?

Global Warming National Poll. Resources for the Future/New York Times/Stanford University. January 2015

Leiserowitz et. al., Global Warming and the U.S. Presidential Election, Spring 2016. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

More than two thirds of Americans support a carbon tax.


Greater knowledge of climate economics leads to greater support for mitigation.

68% of Americans support a revenue-neutral carbon tax.

78% of economists agree that taxing carbon pays off.

84% of resource economists agree that we should increase taxes on energy.

95% of climate economists agree that we should reduce our emissions.*

* Haab, T. C. and Whitehead, J. C. What do Environmental and Resource Economists Think? Results from a Survey of AERE Members, (2015)


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