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Carbon taxes are key to stop deforestation
(Climate Home News, 13 Feb 2020) In Colombia and Costa Rica, where governments have imposed carbon taxes, deforestation rates are down, while revenues to fund forest restoration efforts are up
Humans destroyed tropical forests last year at a punishing clip — with forest destruction in the Amazon soaring 85% since 2018.
Yet amid this wave of deforestation, two countries are bucking the trend.
In fact, Colombia and Costa Rica saw not only a drop in deforestation rates, but renewed efforts to restore previously degraded forests that generated revenue for their economies.
What did these two verdant countries have in common? Both have imposed taxes on carbon emissions.
Economists and scientists agree that carbon taxes help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating an incentive for people to use less fossil fuels. But that’s not all they can do, as we and our co-authors – ministers from both countries – note in an essay published in the journal Nature.
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Climate Home News, 13 Feb 2020: Carbon taxes are key to stop deforestation
