NASA scientist for carbon tax to tackle “moral issue”of climate change

CO2 in the atmosphere is monitored at stations like this one in Ny Alesund, Svalbard

Spending a few days in Scotland over Easter, I was interested to read that the NASA climate scientist James Hansen is to be awarded the prestigious Edinburgh Medal for his contribution to science. The Guardian quotes Hansen, 70-year-old director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the longest-standing experts on climate change, as saying “averting the worst consequences of human-induced climate change is a great moral issue on a par with slavery”. When he gives his address accepting the honour this evening, Hansen will reiterate his  call for a worldwide tax on all carbon emissions. He says the need to tackle climate change is so urgent that we need a flat-rate global tax to bring about immediate cuts in fossil fuel use.

Hansen is both a scientist and an activist. He has been arrested and attacked for his views on climate change and protests against burning coal. He says we owe it to future generations to change our lifestyle and especially our energy use now. I’ll be interested to read the full paper “The scientific case for avoiding dangerous climate change to protect young people and nature”.