The carbon price has become the ultimate political symbol. But has this helped or harmed the cause for those who support it?

For many progressives this symbol was so potent that they ran a “say yes” campaign for it even before they knew what it would entail.

Regardless of the emission reduction targets or the generosity of the compensation package enshrined in the final legislation, supporters of the symbol of carbon pricing were just happy to see their team win the day.

But what if the carbon price was nothing more than an economic instrument with some capacity to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?