As years go by, the earth just keeps getting warmer and warmer, air and water pollution continues to increase, new viruses and diseases are being discovered, and more species are being endangered; all these harmful effects came to be because majority of the population aren’t socially responsible or aware of certain human activities that affect the environment particularly the human health. The main reason that lead to the problems stated is because of excessive greenhouse gas emissions. Coal-fired power plants is linked with asthma, cancer, heart and lung ailments, neurological problems, and other health impacts (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2017).
This paper will take on a marginal cost-benefit analysis of emission reduction measures which will conclude on a solution whether carbon taxes or cap-and-trade delivered the greatest benefit at the lowest cost. Cost-benefit analysis involves trading benefits to some people and costs to others unless beneficiaries of such policies actually compensate those who are harmed. The purpose of this is to promote emission reduction and lessen the impact on human health.
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Greenhouse gas effect concept started in 1896, when Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius detected the effect from burning fossil fuels caused a rise in carbon dioxide levels creating a warming effect that is changing the climate and also create air pollution (Nunez, 2019). Climate change does not only refer to global warming but also rising sea levels, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, extreme weather events, and a lot more. Greenhouse gas are at highest levels ever recorded primarily because humans have released them into the air by burning fossil fuels. US energy-related greenhouse gas emission rose in 2018 by 3.4 percent, reversing a three-year decline. The sector contributing the largest amount of carbon dioxide emissions is power, giving off electricity to power homes.
Industries are now shifting from coal to natural gas despite the fact that in the year 2000, coal accounted for 51.7 percent of electricity generation, compare with just 18.8 percent from natural gas. By 2015, coal’s share had dropped to 33.2 percent, while natural gas rose to 32.7 percent of total generation (Saha, 2016).The production of dry natural gas increased from 2005 to 2018 and prices decreased during the same period (U.S. Energy Information Administration, n.d.). The law of demand states that the demand of natural gas will continue to increase as long as prices are kept low.
Though the costs in burning fossil fuels produce air pollution, causing human health problems, there are still a number of reasons why certain industries remain as a coal industry. The public needs to consume energy in order to power their homes, fuel their cars, and other commercial uses like heating and cooling purposes. Shifting from coals to natural gas doesn’t mean it’ll totally eliminate greenhouse gas emission. According to the National Energy Technology Laboratory, efficient natural gas power plant emits around 50% less carbon dioxide during combustion when compared with a typical coal-based power plant (Climate Reality, 2018). In addition, it is also not environmental friendly; it’s just a better alternative to coal.
For carbon emissions to be totally eliminated, there are residential and utility scale wind, solar, and geothermal energy. The price for producing energy from utility-scale solar plants has decreased by 86% since 2009, while the price for producing electricity from coal has doubled in cost and is now $102 megawatt/hour compared to $50 for solar power. It can be seen that people now are leaning towards a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. There is an increase in awareness of the harmful impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. However, while solar is getting much cheaper, it doesn’t take into account external costs like storing solar power for cloudy days, which can be a hindrance in the adoption of solar.
Based on weighing out the costs and benefits of emission reduction, imposing carbon taxes won’t be as good solution to this problem. Industries would be taxed more, thus increasing the price of the good. Consumers would pay more because of an increase in tax which would affect those people with low incomes. This doesn’t necessarily reduce emissions since consumers would just be paying more to consume the good. However, if carbon tax revenues financed an equal per-capita rebate to all taxpayers, then lower-income households would pay less while upper-income households pay more (Tax Policy Center, 2018). For example, those who drive more will pay more than the average, while those who take the public transit will pay less.
A better solution for emission reduction is cap-and-trade, meaning companies are given a certain limit or amount of greenhouse gas emission which cuts back their activities. This gives them flexibility on how they’ll maximize their emissions in their own way, like shifting to more renewable energy technology that doesn’t require burning fossil fuels. The biggest advantage of solar power is it decreases air pollution and improve human health.
Overall, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions will be more achieved with the cap-and-trade since companies and/or industries will increase their options in finding another alternative or shifting to sustainable energy rather than burning fossil fuels which harms the human health. In addition, the average cost of solar energy continues to decrease so more people are likely shift to a cheaper and better alternative. Furthermore, this will lead to a more better and healthier community.
Bibliography
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- Clement, J. (2018, January 24). More electric cars mean more coal and natural gas. Forbes. Retrieved October 13, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/judeclemente/ 2018/01/24/more-electric-vehicles-mean-more-coal-and-natural-gas/#4236a2902a37
- Climate Reality. (2018, July 6). 3 big myths about natural gas and our climate. Retrieved October 13, 2018, from https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/3-big-myths-about- natural-gas-and-our-climate
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