--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Government needs to do two things: put a…" description: "\"Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon and invest heavily in new technologies.\" — Van Jones" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png" --- # Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon… ![“Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon and invest heavily in new technologies.” quote by Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png) > “Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon and invest heavily in new technologies.” [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective climate policy requires both pricing carbon to internalize externalities and funding innovation for clean tech solutions. **In simple terms:** Carbon pricing and tech investment are essential for climate action. Key Takeaway Implement carbon pricing and fund clean tech. Themes environment policy innovation economics Mood urgent determined Type policy advocacy When to use this quote - government budgeting - corporate sustainability planning - public advocacy - energy sector transition Key Concepts externalities market mechanisms technology diffusion Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance economic growth with carbon costs? - What incentives best accelerate clean tech adoption? A Different Perspective Political resistance can stall carbon pricing reforms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [New technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-technology/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [The question is: do we pay a little bit more now? Or do we pay a whole lot later? For the equivalent of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-question-is-do-we-pay-a-little-bit-more-now-or-do-we-pay-a-whole/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The government also has to get the public rules right. That means putting a price on carbon, so the cleaner forms of energy become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-also-has-to-get-the-public-rules-right-that-means/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [It is important that both Japan and the United States continue to invest very heavily in the alliance to build up our defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/it-is-important-that-both-japan-and-the-united-states-continue-to/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We invest very heavily in the employees. We get the return, and the employee gets the return if they stay with us for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aneel-bhusri/we-invest-very-heavily-in-the-employees-we-get-the-return-and-the/) [Aneel Bhusri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aneel-bhusri/) > [We're not paying a real price for carbon. If we were, we wouldn't be using as much. We need to have the right perspective.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-hayhoe/we-re-not-paying-a-real-price-for-carbon-if-we-were-we-wouldn-t-be/) [Katharine Hayhoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-hayhoe/) > [hen the price of carbon reaches $100 a tonne, then it will become an economically viable business proposition to start taking COâ‚‚ out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-homer-dixon/hen-the-price-of-carbon-reaches-100-a-tonne-then-it-will-become-an/) [Thomas Homer-Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-homer-dixon/) > [I don't believe in a price on carbon, because the government is going to control it and they're going to fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-boone-pickens/i-don-t-believe-in-a-price-on-carbon-because-the-government-is-going/) [T. Boone Pickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-boone-pickens/) > [If we change the way the electricity sector operates, we can bring down our levels of carbon pollution, and continue the crucial task of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-gillard/if-we-change-the-way-the-electricity-sector-operates-we-can-bring/) [Julia Gillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-gillard/) > [The irony is that one of the things people want to solve climate change is more market - more price on carbon so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/the-irony-is-that-one-of-the-things-people-want-to-solve-climate/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [Many scientists and economists also say putting a price on carbon through carbon taxes and/or cap-and-trade is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/many-scientists-and-economists-also-say-putting-a-price-on-carbon/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [Solving climate change is a complex topic, but in a single crude brush-stroke, here is the solution: the price of carbon dioxide must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-j-c-mackay/solving-climate-change-is-a-complex-topic-but-in-a-single-crude-brush/) [David J. C. MacKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-j-c-mackay/) > [Putting a price on carbon pollution is one of the best things we can do to stem the tide of climate change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/putting-a-price-on-carbon-pollution-is-one-of-the-best-things-we-can/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [We need to put a price on carbon, and that's what cap-and-trade does and that's also what a CO2 tax does. As long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/we-need-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-that-s-what-cap-and-trade-does/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) ## More by Van Jones > [Right now, the government is spending billions of dollars supporting the problem-makers in the U.S. economy - the polluters, despoilers, incarcerators, and warmongers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/right-now-the-government-is-spending-billions-of-dollars-supporting/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/america-should-be-leading-the-world-in-green-and-clean-solutions-and/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ I learned more in those six months \[ in the White House\] than in the prior six years. I don't think that anybody who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-learned-more-in-those-six-months-in-the-white-house-than-in-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Most green-collar jobs are middle-skill jobs. That means they require more education that a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/most-green-collar-jobs-are-middle-skill-jobs-that-means-they-require/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [ \[Donald Trump\] is a horrible human being, but he ain't worse than Bull Connor. Fannie Lou loved Bull Connor and beat Bull Connor because… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/donald-trump-is-a-horrible-human-being-but-he-ain-t-worse-than-bull/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Keith Ellison is an organizer's organizer.He's one of the only Muslims in Congress, so you have a big statement there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/keith-ellison-is-an-organizer-s-organizer-he-s-one-of-the-only/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [Everybody should be mad but anger only takes you so far. At some point, you'll have outrage fatigue and burn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/everybody-should-be-mad-but-anger-only-takes-you-so-far-at-some-point/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We have to accept that some very toxic stuff was marbled into the Trump phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-have-to-accept-that-some-very-toxic-stuff-was-marbled-into-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [All the big ideas for getting us onto a lower carbon trajectory involve a lot of people doing a lot of work, and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/all-the-big-ideas-for-getting-us-onto-a-lower-carbon-trajectory/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm the guy that's trying to break up that monopoly to introduce free enterprise and competition to the energy sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-the-guy-that-s-trying-to-break-up-that-monopoly-to-introduce-free/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I think that America could not become America until it dealt with the disenfranchisement of women and African Americans in the last century. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-think-that-america-could-not-become-america-until-it-dealt-with-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [I'm learning and changing all the time, and I expect to continue doing so my entire life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-m-learning-and-changing-all-the-time-and-i-expect-to-continue-doing/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) [Explore all 314 Van Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) Peter Dilger > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) Marc Morano > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon and invest heavily in new technologies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Van Jones" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-invest/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-invest/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb1/van-jones-984_carbon_government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a_1590604.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Government needs to do two things: put a price on carbon and invest heavily in new technologies.” — Van Jones", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Van Jones", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Government needs to do two things:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-invest/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/government-needs-to-do-two-things-put-a-price-on-carbon-and-invest/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```