In June 2008, British Columbia became the first and only Canadian province to introduce a carbon tax, and has been both praised and scorned by environmentalists , economists and politicians alike, debating whether the tax is an efficient or destructive method of controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Liberal Prime Minister Gordon Campbell introduced the carbon tax; its main purpose would be to impose a carbon tax to increase the consumption price of fossil fuels within the province, the philosophy behind the tax was to increase taxes on purchases deemed harmful to the environment and decrease the tax on others. The carbon tax promised to achieve this goal in a carbon neutral manner, which meant that revenue received from the tax would be recycled to taxpayers through the reduction of other provincial taxes (“Revenue.” The Province of British Columbia, 2011). The introduction of the tax was not well received by opposing political parties; the NDP created the ax of the tax campaign that targeted the carbon tax and justified it as a failure. Furthermore, the Conservative Party was against the tax and considered it inefficient and dangerous, quoting Prime Minister Harper as saying that the tax would "rip everyone off." (PM: Dion's carbon tax 'would screw everyone over' - Canada - CBC News, 2008) Nonetheless, the tax was still enforced. Three years have passed since the introduction of the tax and although many still argue that it is still too early to verify whether the tax is effective or not, many observations can be made that help answer this question. Although it may be too early to tell whether British Columbia's carbon tax is the best method to control greenhouse gas emissions. It would be difficult to argue that the tax is just a question of paper... the risks associated with its implementation. Works Cited Ebner, David and Shawn McCarthy. “BC Finds Success with Controversial Carbon Tax.” Globe and Mail [Toronto] July 3, 2011: 2. Print."Green in Canada: We have a winner | The Economist." The Economist - World news, politics, economics, business and finance. Np, nd Web. November 2, 2011. .Horne, Matt. “Why BC's carbon tax needs to rise.” The Tyee - Home. Np, nd Web. 7 November 2011. "PM: Dion's carbon tax would 'screw everyone' - Canada - CBC News." CBC.ca - Canadian News Sports Entertainment Kids Docs Radio TV. Np, nd Web. November 30, 2011. “Revenue.” The Province of British Columbia - Home. Np, nd Web. November 9. 2011. .