For years many economists and scientists have advocated for the implementation of a carbon tax as the most effective way to deal with catastrophic climate change. The reasoning is simple: higher prices discourages people from consuming things that are taxed but at the same time it provides an incentive for the creation of alternatives. Carbon pollution is attacked from both the demand and supply side, from the consumption and manufacturing side simultaneously.

Very obviously the problem with this approach is precisely that prices are higher. Just ask the yellow vests protestors in France if it is nice to pay more for things that are essential for many working families in remote areas. But, how can we possibly bridge the huge gap between an elegant approach to climate change and the ugly truth of the pain this very solution might cause to some families? The solution is a Smart Carbon Tax (SCT). What is an SCT?

Simply put, an SCT is a carbon tax plus a debit card given to every adult. Carbon would be taxed at a high enough rate to incentivize lower consumption of carbon-intensive energy but every adult member of a country, city, or state gets a debit card with enough money in it to cover the additional costs. I don't know about you but I would rather receive money on a monthly basis than get it through a reduction of my income taxes, as other carbon-tax supporters have proposed. And it's simple: if my energy bill (and other living expenses costs) increase on average $100 per month, I should get $100 per month deposited in my debit card. I can then either decide to consume the same amount of energy I used to (perhaps because I have no other alternative) or I can look for ways to save energy and instead buy a new pair of shoes with my debit card. As for the costs of implementing this program? Ask Visa or Mastercard how much it costs them to manage their gift card programs. I recently purchased a $30 gift card and paid $1 for it. You do the math, it's not much.

In the end, we can drastically improve our chances of tackling climate change in a smart way. The concerns of those who worry about a financial hit to families who can't afford to curtail their consumption would be addressed. Also, I don't think Warren Buffet or Bill Gates should get the debit card. Maybe the money that is saved by not distributing this money to wealthy individuals could instead be used to finance energy research and other climate change initiatives. Maybe it could be used to give working families even more money in their debit cards to deal with higher energy costs. Who knows? What is clear is that a Carbon Tax can be implemented in a Smart way, in other words, in a way that doesn't hit working families and doesn't raise the passions of energized protestors in the streets of Paris, for instance.

Edit: A previous version of this petition did not take into account other costs associated with a carbon tax. It has been edited to suggest that other living expenses might also increase and people should therefore get reimbursed fully for these additional costs. Credit goes to redditor "deck_hand" for pointing this out.