Bill Gates calls for carbon tax to get to near-zero emissions

… I believe it is imperative that the government commit to clean energy innovation at a level similar to its research investments in health and defense… Market incentives, alone, will not create enough affordable clean energy to get the nation to near-zero CO2 emissions, the level of emissions that developed countries must achieve if we are going to keep Earth from getting even hotter… Last year I joined with other business leaders in a call to increase federal investment in energy R&D from $5 billion to $16 billion a year. (Others, including the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, have also recommended substantial increases.‡) Recently, our group, the American Energy Innovation Council (AEIC), issued a second report outlining ways to ensure that government research dollars are targeted wisely to achieve optimal returns. The report also suggests ways to pay for the increased investment: reducing or eliminating current subsidies to well-established energy industries, diverting a portion of royalties from domestic energy production, collecting a small fee on electricity sales, or imposing a price on carbon…