Policy in motion: reassembling carbon pricing policy development in the personal transport sector in British Columbia

British Columbia’s carbon tax is an example of a relatively systemic climate pricing policy in the North American transport sector. This research uses Actor-Network Theory to retrace and reassemble the development of the tax from inception to implementation. From the fieldwork, six stages of the policy development process emerged, beginning with the surfacing of the concept of tax shifting in 1998 to the implementation of a carbon tax in 2008. This article explores how British Columbia’s experience aligns with lessons from the carbon taxation literature relating to a range of themes including education, leadership, timing, administration, taxation level, revenue allocation and communication.

► Public education and policy discussions in the 1990s created a foundation for a policy process in the 2000s.
► Modeling the carbon tax on an existing gas tax model accelerated the policy process and eased administration.
► Implementation timing risks coinciding with gas price spikes.
► Expend effort on public communication in addition to tax design.
► Public preference shifted from a revenue neutral to a revenue generating model.