Reward the frugal and charge the profligate

What we don't have are buyers for greenhouse-reducing infrastructure because it is not economically sensible to purchase goods that involve lower greenhouse emissions. At present such goods cost more than competitive products created using emissions-producing technologies.

So the problem is not the money, not the sellers, but the buyers. We need buyers who want to, or are required to spend in the market place of greenhouse-reducing infrastructure.

Why not create some money that has to be spent in the market place of greenhouse-reducing infrastructure? Second, why not give the money collected from a carbon levy to those people whose lifestyles produce few greenhouse gases on the proviso that they use the money to invest in greenhouse-reducing infrastructure. That is, the buyers will have money but they have to invest in geosequestration facilities, solar thermal energy farms, insulation for houses, windmill energy generators and so forth.

If we do this we will still pay more for goods that generate greenhouse gases, but we will give the money collected to those whose lifestyles consume few greenhouse gases. These frugal people will invest in further ways to reduce greenhouse gases. We have created a positive feedback loop where saving greenhouse gases generates more savings. This is guaranteed to reduce greenhouse gases because it solves the missing part of the market-driven equation. It creates a group of buyers, with money, ready to spend.

We can quickly and easily set up an experimental system to test if the approach works. We already have the information systems to support the infrastructure market and the distribution of money is a well known problem. We can start experimentation immediately.

The system is socially equitable, will not change the GDP because the money used on greenhouse gases is merely a transfer from other expenditure, not a reduction in expenditure. The system can be introduced incrementally and refined through use. We can start it tomorrow. Best of all it is guaranteed to work. We know it will achieve a reduction in greenhouse gases. We do not know the rate, but through experimentation we can soon discover how much we need to spend, to achieve any particular emissions target.