>Well, the free market answer is to fix a fair price for the externality, and then let the free market work. The way you normally do that is through government

>Well, the free market answer is to fix a fair price for the externality, and then let the free market work. The way you normally do that is through government regulation which this policy is completely abdicating. >The issue, of course, is defining what the "fair" price is. What's the fair price of carbon? Depends on how bad the damage is going to be. How bad is that? Depending on who you listen to, what your time frame is, and how much other carbon is added on top of it, the answer might vary by two orders of magnitude. These are all things that are perfectly reasonable to debate. I have no complaints if you have logically reached a "fair price" that is drastically smaller than the "fair price" I have reached. That is not what this administration is arguing. This administration is arguing that "fair price" is already baked into the market. That is an indefensible position.