Carbon Taxes are Essential, but Nearly Impossible to Implement in America Today Carbon Taxes are Essential, but Nearly Impossible to Implement in America Today December 27, 2020 Carbon emissions are a quintessential example of a negative externality – an output that causes an undue negative effect on those who are not involved in its production. Where negative externalities exist, economists advocate for intervention. Take smoking: it’s no longer socially permissible to smoke a cigarette indoors because of the adverse effects of second-hand smoke. Shouldn’t carbon emissions be treated the same way? The issue is that CO 2 emissions, which are the leading cause of anthropogenic global warming, are a worldwide problem. Unlike in the case of smoking, curbing CO