The Carbon Tax: A student perspective

By: Ruby Jennings

I'm a Canadian in grade 11, attending high school in the United States at Phillips Exeter Academy. Over U.S. Thanksgiving, I went home and found myself caught up in a conversation that's been dominating headlines in Canada: the carbon tax. The slogan "axe the tax" was everywhere—on the news, social media, and even casual conversations. At first, I thought it was just conservative rhetoric, but I quickly realized how this issue is dividing people, even among progressives.

My school's student body is almost entirely climate activists. If you polled my classmates, they'd likely unanimously support a carbon tax. I still support a carbon tax, too, but a chance conversation on my visit home has made me see things differently. I have not abandoned my belief in climate action, but I've gained an appreciation for the complexity and nuance of the issue. 

I had a long meeting with my neighbor, a progressive, gentle, left-wing man who owns a farm and is deeply committed to environmental sustainability. However, he is deeply concerned about the rising carbon tax costs—from fuel to fertilizers—making his farm increasingly economically unviable. He supports climate action, but the financial burden the tax imposes feels impossible to bear. His perspective challenged me in ways I wasn't expecting.

This brings me to a talk my school hosted a few weeks back by Tom Steyer, the billionaire turned climate activist, who came to promote his book Cheaper Faster Better. Mr. Steyer advocates for (among other things) using capitalism to help fight climate change. Some of my classmates were skeptical of him—after all, he had made millions from fossil fuels decades ago. To them, using capitalism to address climate change felt counterintuitive, even contradictory. How could the system that contributed to the climate crisis also be its solution? But I found myself intrigued by his argument. I read Mr. Steyer's book over the Thanksgiving break. I am now utterly convinced that engineering solutions and capitalist innovation must be critical components of any climate strategy. 

Mr Steyer's talk planted a seed, and back home, observing the "axe-the-tax" rhetoric in full force and hearing about my neighbor's struggles, a light bulb went off. Canada is one of the most politically progressive nations in the world. If we can't build widespread support for a carbon tax here, what hope is there in the U.S. or, for that matter, developing nations? These countries will need more energy in the coming decades, and we can't ethically demand they adopt expensive policies when their populations still strive for basic access to electricity.

This experience hasn't made me abandon my belief in climate action, but it's made me realize how crucial it is to find "win-win" solutions that work for everyone. One such solution is green hydrogen, a technology that could transform our fight against climate change. "Green" hydrogen is simply hydrogen fuel produced using renewable energy like wind, solar, or hydro. Hydrogen fuel generates no greenhouse gas emissions. It is also incredibly versatile, capable of powering vehicles, generating electricity, providing industrial heat, and even serving as a feedstock for fertilizer production. For energy-intensive sectors like farming, green hydrogen could provide a clean, affordable alternative to fossil fuels.

Yet, there's a critical challenge: green hydrogen is still more expensive than fossil fuels. However, making hydrogen fuel less expensive is just an engineering problem. Overcoming this hurdle is both an economic opportunity and a moral imperative. If we can make green hydrogen cost-competitive, we can decarbonize entire industries and empower developing nations to meet their growing energy needs sustainably. And my neighbor will probably happily vote for a carbon tax.

Green Hydrogen is just one example of how engineering innovation can solve the climate crisis, from better batteries to safe nuclear to many others. Mr. Steyer even cites an example of a company he helped fund that uses lightweight refrigeration installed on existing power lines to help get renewable energy to people using the existing power grid.

This story is a call to action for anyone who believes in climate action but is more engineering-inclined. Solving the cost challenge of green hydrogen could unlock a cascade of benefits, offering a path to decarbonization that is beneficial to all. Imagine a world where renewable energy and green hydrogen drive industry, farmers don't have to choose between sustainability and survival, and the fight against climate change unites rather than divides us.