Carbon fee and dividend

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/carbon-fee-and-dividend

1. What is the policy type?
2. What is the revenue recycling mechanism?
3. How does the carbon fee make things cheaper for people?
4. Why do people give money back to everyone in the carbon fee and dividend plan?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the policy type?Market-based instrument for climate change mitigation
2. What is the revenue recycling mechanism?Full revenue neutrality through equal per capita dividends
3. How does the carbon fee make things cheaper for people?The fee makes dirty energy more expensive, so people and companies look for cleaner options. The money from the fee is returned to everyone, which can help pay for the higher costs of some goods.
4. Why do people give money back to everyone in the carbon fee and dividend plan?Giving money back keeps the plan fair, especially for families that spend less on energy. It helps make sure no one pays more for the planet’s health.

Negative Externalities: Costs imposed on third parties not directly involved in a transaction, like pollution's impact on health.
Carbon Pricing: Assigning a monetary cost to greenhouse gas emissions to discourage their release.
Regressive Impact: A policy that disproportionately burdens lower-income individuals compared to higher-income individuals.