Fighting global warming will necessarily require taxing carbon emissions, or setting a price on carbon pollution, the World Bank's chief executive said Wednesday at a G7 environment meeting in Canada.

"We believe very strongly that we can send an economic signal by introducing a shadow price for carbon," Kristalina Georgieva told AFP, referring to a method of calculating a price per tonne of carbon that includes the social costs of pollution.

"We are the last generation that can do something to fight climate change but we are also the first generation that has to live with its consequences," she said.

"There is a consensus among scientists and economists that carbon pricing is the best way to signal to economies that the behavior has to change."

According to the Institute for Climate Economics, 46 countries and 26 subnational governments have established a carbon pricing policy as of April 1, either using a carbon tax or a carbon market in which quotas are set for big polluters who then have the option to buy or sell credits from other companies.

These policies added US$30 billion to government coffers, with prices per tonne ranging from US$1 to US$133.

But, according to the OECD, the amount being charged is insufficient to meet climate targets.

The World Bank is "making every major step to integrate climate action into all of our lending policies," Georgieva commented.

One week after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the world has only two years left to act in order to avert disastrous consequences of runaway climate change, Georgieva added her voice to the call to arms, saying it was "critical" that nations take action now.

The gathering of the Group of Seven industrialized nations along with the EU in the Canadian port city of Halifax is looking also to adopt new international rules to stop plastics from further accumulating in the world's oceans.

Related Links
Climate Science News - Modeling, Mitigation Adaptation

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Beavers have an impact on the climate
Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Sep 20, 2018
Growing beaver populations have created a large number of new habitats along rivers and ponds. Beaver dams raise the water level, enabling the dissolution of the organic carbon from the soil. From beaver ponds, carbon is released to the atmosphere. Part of the carbon settles down on the bottom, ending up used by plants or transported downstream in the water. "An increase in the number of beavers has an impact on the climate since a rising water level affects the interaction between beaver ponds, w ... read more