Scientists and trading partners have spoken: Is the US listening?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is releasing its Fourth Assessment Report expressing the global consensus on climate change trends. Released in Paris, France today, the report concludes that it is 90% likely that climate change is due to human activities. Meanwhile, Jacques Chirac, president of France, has warmed that if the US does not take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, products exported from the United States could be taxed to enter the European market. While industries in Europe have to invest in reducing their emissions, industries in the US continue to emit gases without any control. This is unfair to European industry, and, unless the US takes serious action to reduce emissions, it could be faced with a carbon tax if it wishes to continue trading with its largest export market.

Although such a tax could be disputed at the WTO, France is supportedby the rest of Europe if it was to implement such a measure. The US Federal government has ignored the concerns of millions of citizens, but perhaps it might listen to the concern of its own industry. The science is clear, the cost of inaction is escalating, the time to act is now.