Reading Comprehension

PT17 · S4 · P3 · Q17 Carbon Tax

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One way governments can decrease air pollution is to impose a tax on industrial carbon dioxide emissions.

Topic

The pros and cons of using a carbon tax to reduce industrial carbon dioxide emissions

Framework

Problem / Solution

Main Point

A carbon tax could incentivize industries to reduce emissions and use cleaner fuels, but its effectiveness depends on key assumptions about economics and international cooperation, which may not hold up in practice. () — Paragraph 1, and concerns about cooperation and effectiveness are raised throughout.

P1: Introduction to Carbon Tax & Its Virtue

Why consider a carbon tax? The main benefit is that it motivates industry to cut emissions and switch to cleaner fuels, since dirtier fuels would get taxed more. It's an incentive-based approach compared to flat-out legislating against polluting fuels or investing in alternatives.

P2: Uncertainty in Setting the Tax & Predicting Effects

It's hard to know what the right tax level would be or how it would impact the economy and environment. Some estimates exist, but they rely on assumptions—ignoring economic effects, expecting future behavior to mimic the past, and assuming all countries play along.

P3: International Cooperation Difficulties ("Free Rider" Problem)

Getting all countries to cooperate on a carbon tax is tough. If some countries don't join in, they get a competitive edge (since they don't bear the costs), but still benefit environmentally from others' efforts—classic "free rider" problem.

17.

The author mentions the estimates of “One writer” (second paragraph) primarily in order to

Correct
indicate in a general way
Why this is right
When we're picking answers to Local Purpose questions, we're hoping to see a match between the answer and the bigger idea in the previous sentence. "Indicate in a general way" matches up well with "to estimate roughly" from the 2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph. "the size that a carbon tax must be for it to be effective" matches up well with "the size of the tax needed to effect a given level of emission reduction", from that same sentence.
Skill tested: Local Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.
38% picked this
provide the most accurate information
Too Strong: most accurate / practical
The author wasn't suggesting anything this extreme. This is just one writer with one rough estimate. Our author isn't selling this writer's estimates as "the most accurate / most practical".
3% picked this
suggest that the target recommended
Wrong Purpose
The author was never saying that the Toronto target was unrealistic. The author was saying, "If, for example, you wanted to effect the level of emission reduction targeted by the Toronto Conference, then you'd need about 41% on coal, 33% on oil, 25% on gas."
14% picked this
undermine the argument that a
Wrong Purpose
The author talks about certain countries having an undermined incentive to achieve emission reductions (if other countries are solving global warming for you, you can just free-ride). But that's in paragraph 3 and 4. This question is only about the beginning of paragraph 2. And the author is never herself trying to undermine the argument that a carbon tax would provide incentives. She's just (much later in the passage) discussing the unfortunate reality that we would need to account for "free-riders".
8% picked this
show how the size of
Out of Scope: how it's calculated
Presenting the writer's estimates is presenting that writer's calculation. It's not presenting "how it was calculated". Presumably, the writer took into account different emission levels of coal / oil / gas, and looked at the 20% emissions reduction, looked at previous consumer behavior in response to tax increases, etc. The passage doesn't present any of that story of the process behind the calculation. The author brings up "one writer" to show that the size can be calculated not to show how the size can be calculated
37% picked this

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