Twenty years ago, U.S scientist, James Hansen testified before a Senate committee and told lawmakers that “the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now.”

On Monday, James Hansen, the director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said at a congressional briefing that a carbon tax would be the most efficient way to cut global warming emissions and encourage non-fossil energy sources.

What is a carbon tax? Basically a carbon tax is a tax on the carbon content of fuels or it is effectively a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.

“We have to level with the public that there has to be a price on carbon emissions,” Hansen said. “That is the only way we are going to begin to move toward a carbon free economy.”

Hansen said urgent action was needed to cut carbon dioxide emissions that are warming the globe and are already causing arctic ice to melt. He said world leaders had only one or two years to act before the Earth reaches a “tipping point” with major consequences to the global climate and species survival.

“We have reached an emergency situation,” Hansen said.

He said the government should not keep the proceeds from any carbon tax, but refund the money to taxpayers to help them pay for more fuel efficient technology.

President George W. Bush has opposed any broad program to curb carbon emissions saying it would hurt the economy and has consistently resisted any tax increases. But global warming is an issue in this year’s presidential campaign and is expected to be a major topic of discussion at next month’s meeting of leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations in Japan.

Via- Reuters