(NOTE: This is part of a special series highlighting the
Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker Project. Learn more and get involved at
bouldercarbontax.org.)
There's no such thing as a free lunch. Boulder, CO's new carbon tax, which went into effect April 1, is just the latest chapter in the city's ongoing quest to find ways to pay for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Following the money is a big part of the
Boulder Carbon Tax Tracker project, so here's a brief history lesson.
I've been asking around, and surprisingly many average Boulderites aren't aware that our local government adopted the goals of the Kyoto Protocol (an international treaty to combat climate change) back in 2002.
(City council
resolution 906) Boulder's far from alone in this --
hundreds of US cities have taken similar measures.
In fact, according to the US Council of Mayors as of April 24 a total of
471 US mayors (including Boulder mayor
Mark Ruzzin) had signed on to
USCM's climate protection agreement on behalf of their cities. This agreement commits cities to "strive to meet or exceed Kyoto Protocol targets for reducing global warming pollution by taking actions in our communities." (And yes, there's a long list of measures
in the agreement.) Boulder's 2002 resolution has somewhat more "teeth" than the 2005 USCM agreement, but we are party to both.
After passing resolution 906 in 2002, Boulder had to start finding ways to pay for achieving such lofty environmental goals. In her
February 2007 report, Boulder Environmental Sustainability Coordinator
Sarah Van Pelt explained the early funding sources and limitations:
"In 2003, growing momentum for city action on energy issues led to the dedication of $100,000 from the city's General Fund for limited analysis and programs in 2004. A two-year increase in the city's Trash Tax provided an annual budget of $258,000 for energy and greenhouse gas programs. The short-term and limited nature of the Trash Tax, as well as public concern over the tax increase, meant that a new, long-term revenue stream would be needed to continue the greenhouse gas programs beyond 2006."
What makes Boulder unique, of course, is that in November 2006 we became the first city in the nation to manage to
pass a tax on utility bills to fund measures to help us meet our Kyoto Protocol goals.
(See
2006 Boulder ballot issue 202) Back in 1993 the
Clinton Administration tried it, and
several states have been working on it. But Boulder pulled it off.
So from now until the tax expires on March 31, 2013, Boulder will collect an estimated $1 million per year to implement its
climate action plan.
Thus begins our money trail...