It also allows us to have comparative debates about carbon tax proposals

Carbon taxes are a promising way to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases while avoiding unnecessary costs.1 One key design element of such taxes is how governments use their potentially considerable revenue. Budget discussions often organize them into the three familiar pillars of fiscal policy: new spending, tax cuts, or lower borrowing. From a broader policy perspective, however, it is useful to organize them into four alternative policy goals: (1) offsetting the new burdens that a carbon tax places on consumers, producers, communities, and the broader economy; (2) supporting further efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (3) ameliorating the harms of climate disruption; and (4) funding public priorities unrelated to climate.2 Each approach reflects a coherent but distinct perspective on how best to use revenues from taxes imposed to achieve climate policy goals. We believe carbon tax discussions will be most productive if policymakers, advocates, analysts, and members of the public recognize this breadth of perspectives and develop strategies for using carbon tax revenues that deliver important social benefits while building the necessary political consensus for implementing and maintaining well-designed carbon taxes. Doing so requires an appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses of each approach.