Dear editor,

I appreciate Mr. Fletcher鈥檚 column on carbon pricing (Canada鈥檚 carbon tax house of cards is falling down, Sept. 11). We need to talk about this.

I am wondering though where Mr. Fletcher spent his summer. The 鈥減lanetary weather鈥� he refers to was pretty hot and smoky where I was.

As summers become drastically hotter, drier and longer, droughts and wildfires are getting much worse. The science is clear: fossil fuel pollution increases the greenhouse effect, and climate change is all too real. It is happening right now.

I actually agree with Mr. Fletcher that a revenue neutral carbon price is a good idea. Our main concern however, should be keeping a rising price on carbon pollution with no exemptions. That is the most cost-efficient way to signal the market to shift investment to low carbon energy and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Rather than grumbling about a few dollars at the gas pump, we should be asking Minister Michelle Mungall about the minimal taxes paid by large gas companies who benefit from B.C.鈥檚 extremely generous royalty and tax credit while polluting our air and water. We should also be asking why fracking operations pay no carbon tax on the significant amounts of methane that leak into our atmosphere.

Thanks again Mr. Fletcher for raising this important issue. I hope you now pursue the real story on taxes here.

Judy O鈥橪eary,

Nelson