Starting on July 1, 2008 San Francisco area businesses will pay a 4.4¢ tax for every metric ton of CO2 they emit. The region’s Bay Area Air Quality Management District, responsible for air quality oversight in nine counties, voted 15-1 to impose the carbon emissions fee. Citing that impacts from climate change are raising surface temperatures, air quality, in turn, is negatively impacted.
The District expects that over 2,500 businesses – including gas stations and grocery stores – will be subject to the fee though the majority of businesses will pay less than a dollar. However, approximately seven power plants and oil refineries exist in the area and may pay $50,000 or more each year.
The District hopes that the fee will send a message and inspire businesses to reduce their carbon emissions even further (after all, the less C02 each business emits the less it will have to pay). The District will earmark the money to fund its efforts to collect and track data on greenhouse gases.
Of course as the news reports, not everyone appreciates the Board’s decision. Critics note that the state’s California Air Resources Board is also assessing policies to curb carbon dioxide emissions as directed by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. Pundits fear that a regional mandate will confuse efforts and ultimately lead to a hodgepodge of policy. Cynics also warn that the region’s cars and trucks fall outside the agency’s purview, yet account for over 50 percent of the area’s carbon dioxide. Too bad the Bay Area Air Quality Management District cannot instead use the fee it collects to provide incentives for hybrid and electric vehicles!
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Thanks for the good read!