As a follow up to my previous post, I would like to add my thanks to Jim Hansen for his long service as a government employee upon his retirement.
He has a great body of work, has made a lot of sound predictions, and doesn’t shy away from controversy related to his science work. In fact, that is why he is retiring, so that he can work as an activist full time. So congratulations, goodbye and hope to see you soon, Jim.
In reading about his position on carbon pricing through the above link, I note that my opinion (which I developed over years in working in parallel) matches his for the precisely same reasons when it comes to a carbon tax vs. a trading scheme:
“In his 2009 testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee, Hansen laid out his basic critique of cap-and-trade: “(1) unpredictable price volatility, (2) it makes millionaires on Wall Street and other trading floors at public expense, (3) it is an invitation to blackmail by utilities that threaten “blackout coming” to gain increased emission permits, (4) it has overhead costs and complexities, inviting lobbyists and delaying implementation.”
Nice to know that I see things the same way as someone that smart occasionally.