Why We Need Carbon Pricing : A Social and Environmental Accounting Perspective

This paper justifies a need for carbon pricing through the academic social and environmental accounting perspective. An analytical approach is taken whereby current developments in carbon pricing are linked to the academic literature on social and environmental accounting. A need for carbon pricing is justified through a middle of the road social and environmental accounting research perspective and the notion of accountability.The paper has both research and practitioner implications. Academic work on social and environmental accounting has relevance for contemporary developments such as carbon pricing. Carbon pricing is integral in internalizing externalities and there is vast support for this process, including academic support. Practitioners can use social and environmental accounting research to justify carbon pricing, thereby providing further credence to their arguments. This study is one of the first studies to link social and environmental accounting research to carbon pricing and suggests that such research has practical relevance