What is the cheapest, most efficient way to cut greenhouse gas emissions?

New research from the Ohio State University has bolstered previous reports that putting a tax on man-made carbon emissions from electricity generating units is the most effective and least costly way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

The study, which was led by Yixian Liu, looked at how a variety of policy changes would impact the costs and effects on reducing carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation in the state of Texas.

One Texas policy, which mandates that a certain amount of energy in a region's energy portfolio come from renewable sources, was either more expensive or not as effective as carbon taxes on coal- and natural gas- fired units.

Subsidies for renewable sources of energy, which are common practice, were also found to be less effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to a carbon tax. The main reason is that subsidies are much more costly.

The study also concluded that a carbon tax could achieve almost an 80 percent reduction of carbon emissions by 2040 compared to what it was in 2010 at half the cost of tax credits for renewable energy sources.

Key excerpt from the Ohio State News.......

"We have known for the last 40 or more years that market-based solutions can work on issues like this," said Ramteen Sioshansi, senior author of the study and an integrated systems engineering professor at The Ohio State University.

"If no one had to pay for the subsidies and they were truly free, that would be a great option," Sioshansi said. "Unfortunately, that is not how they work."