Read a summary describing the Voluntary Carbon Tax.

Why a voluntary carbon tax?

Climate change threatens life as we know it on our planet. Action is needed now at the highest levels and yet our government is reacting sluggishly at best. A U.S. carbon tax would be a powerful incentive toward reducing greenhouse gases. While we seek enactment of such a tax, we can begin now voluntarily to tax our own carbon use and contribute the resulting funds to efforts that further the reduction of carbon in our atmosphere.

What is a voluntary carbon tax?

A voluntary carbon tax is a donation in recognition of our own carbon use to some endeavor that aims to reduce greenhouse gases . We pledge to give either a speicified amount or a selected percent of one or more of our personal carbon-use expenditures. On a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually), we calculate the amount of this pledge, decide on a use for the funds, and give/donate them to that use. (Some past recipients are listed here.) This pledge can be made by an individual or by a group of people pooling their funds for both mutual support and greater financial impact.

Who are we?

We are a collection of groups and individuals who have committed ourselves to some level of “tax” on our own carbon use as an active declaration of our intent that greenhouse gases must be reduced.

How does it work?

Any person or group wishing to make a voluntary carbon tax pledge can do so using our sample pledge form or a pledge mechanism of their own choosing. Once you or your group has joined us , we will send you a quarterly reminder to collect information about your collected taxes and how you used them. With the results from these reports, we will tally results from all individuals and groups and post those results on this website. Results will be presented in aggregate to protect confidentiality.

If you choose to base your tax on a percentage of your carbon use, you may find the The carbon tax calculator on the sidebar to be helpful.

How do I/we decide where to donate our voluntary taxes?

This website lists some places that others have sent their tax, but you can give your pledge to any organization or activity that is working toward a more sustainable future. We hope this website can gather suggestions from its users from the reports they send in.