Carbon Prices and Climate Change
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Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: June 14, 2022
Lesson PlansScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This lesson plan about carbon pricing, cap-and-trade, and carbon taxes includes a podcast, an article, and several challenges using the En-ROADS climate simulator.
- Students will learn about this government-level solution and will try out a variety of real-world scenarios to see their effect on concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere.
Subjects: Economics, Civics
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The podcast features an engaging interview with MIT professor of economics Christopher Knittel.
- The wrap-up discussion questions are thought-provoking and require students to use critical thinking skills.
Additional Prerequisites
- The guide includes teacher pages and student pages. A PDF of just the student pages is also available near the bottom of the educator guide description page.
- Teachers should take some time to become familiar with the En-ROADS climate simulator before using it in the lesson.
Differentiation
- Civics, social studies, or geography classes could examine carbon tax and cap-and-trade models that are being used in different parts of the world and think about which models might work in the United States.
- Psychology or sociology classes could discuss barriers to carbon pricing using the following questions:
- Do humans respond more to penalties, rewards, or a combination of the two?
- Why would money motivate people more than the prospect of stopping climate change?
- Is it possible that carbon pricing might make people feel like they are doing more to help the Earth than they actually are?
- Other resources on this topic include this video on carbon taxes, this report on confronting carbon inequality, and this article on how individuals can lower their carbon emissions.
This resource includes a podcast in which an MIT expert is interviewed and discusses various ways in which we can put a price on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon taxes and cap-and-trade schemes are discussed, as well as how industry and consumers are likely to respond to these schemes. A transcript and educator's guide, along with additional resource links, are provided. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
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Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Founded in 2014, the Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is MIT’s institute-wide effort to mobilize the substantial scientific, engineering, policy, and design capacity of the MIT community to contribute to addressing climate change and other environmental challenges of global import. ESI pursues multidisciplinary research, education, events, and partnerships to help move society toward an environmentally and socially sustainable future. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts on MIT’s main campus, ESI is powered by a lean staff working closely with students and faculty across the full spectrum of disciplines. Led by architecture professor John E. Fernandez, a leading scholar in the emerging field of urban metabolism, ESI is advised by students, faculty, alumni, and thought leaders from many sectors of society.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
