The main goal of a carbon tax is to send a price signal so that householdsand firms reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This makes the consumption of certain products, like gasoline, more expensive by design, and therefore raises a fairness question, because we are not all able to adjust our lifestyles equally easily. How should carbon tax revenues be used? Should they be recycled to households? Or invested in “green” endeavors, or in adaptation projects? Or should they be used to compensate the victims of climate change? This conference will explore these questionsto arrive at the conclusion that a carbon tax is necessarily unfair andwill propose avenues for the design of a new pricing mechanism that incorporates fairness concerns.

Justin Leroux is Associate Professor of Applied Economics at HEC Montréal and Co-Director of the Ethics and Economics Axis at the Centre de recherche en éthique(CRÉ). His scientific contributions aim to inform debates on climate policy and the pricing of public services.