CBO PAPER: Shifting the Cost Burden of a Carbon Cap-and-Trade Program

摘要

Several Members of Congress and public interest groups have proposed plans to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide (referred to in this paper as carbon emissions), which have generally been found to be contributing to a gradual warming of the Earth's climate. Although climate change might benefit some regions, it could ultimately cause extensive physical and economic damage in others. That damage is still uncertain, but it could include higher sea levels; wider ranges for tropical diseases; disruptions to farming, forestry, and natural ecosystems; and greater variability and extremes of regional weather. Most such damage would fall on future generations.