14,000 scientists warn of "untold suffering" if we fail to act on climate change

Good news! It generally doesn't!

Companies eat some of the cost. Some of it directly by reduced profit margins, some of it by losing some customers because of increased cost. Either way, it incentivizes them to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices or gives a way for other environmentally-friendly companies to compete based on cost.

And that revenue isn't lost! It either goes into general revenues to reduce the tax burden on the general population, subsidizes investments in green tech that stimulates the economy via jobs, or is given back to the people like Canada does. Most Canadians end up with more cash each year (albeit only a few hundred dollars depending on how much their emit).

With that in mind, some of the cost is passed onto customers. But that's a good thing! It means that people can afford less carbon-intensive activities and more environmentally-friendly alternatives - which is exactly the goal.

/r/worldnews Thread Parent Link - mic.com