David Zetland:
Obama says he will not give a permit for the Keystone XL, a project that I have supported in the past.
The end of the Keystone will:*
- NOT keep Canadian tar sands from being produced
- NOT reduce the number of trains carrying crude with far more risk of accident
- NOT reduce American (or world) energy consumption
- NOT "fix" the climate change problem"**
That's because the pipeline is only there to meet demand. If you want to reduce demand, then you have to raise the price of oil or — more accurately — CO2 emissions.
The best way to do this is via a carbon tax. The easiest way to do this is by raising the gasoline tax from its incredibly low level of $0.49/gallon ($0.13 liter — it's $0.77/liter in the Netherlands) to merely $1/gallon.
I agree. I don't think Keystone XL should be a part of U.S. climate policy.
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