This week, the World Bank lauded British Columbia’s climate policy as “the most powerful example” of effective carbon pricing policies, because the evidence shows it doesn’t hurt the economy. Instead, it lowers corporate and personal tax rates while reducing fuel consumption.
It’s not the first time the policy hit the World Bank’s radar; earlier this year the institution cited the B.C. carbon tax as a standout policy, noting that it is “spurring greater innovation in energy, industry, and policy.”
Indeed, there’s a lot to like there. British Columbia’s economy enjoys stronger economic performance than the Canadian average. Carbon pollution is down. The carbon tax now funds more than a billion dollars a year in other tax cuts—resulting in one of Canada’s lowest corporate tax rates. Meanwhile, as far as political fallout goes, the party that introduced the policy has won both of the two elections held since it took effect.
Given the renewed interest in British Columbia’s world-leading carbon tax, today we released a new fact sheet to explain how it works, and summarize the evidence of its success. Check out Proof Positive: The Mechanics and Impacts of British Columbia’s Carbon Tax [2 MB .pdf].
And if you have any questions about this fact sheet, or the policy itself, please let us know in the comments below and we’ll do our best to answer them.
