What is the cost and benefit of virtual carbon pricing? 

Compared to nationwide carbon taxation, virtual carbon pricing is easier to introduce with less political hassle. Each participant has the discretion to set their own carbon price rate and can make it "tax neutral" by banking the self-imposed tax to receive a year-end lump-sum bonus. 

The only cost of virtual carbon pricing comes from the purchase or pricing decisions under the virtual carbon price system, which may be sub-optimal as a response to the actual price system until everyone else in the economy adopts virtual carbon pricing at the rate of your choice. This cost of sub-economic decisions is directly linked to the shift in your activity away from carbon-heavy products to greener products.  Therefore, this cost increases with the rate of carbon tax set by the participant or with the environmental benefits. Each participant has the discretion to set the rate depending on their ESG budget. 

The benefit of virtual carbon pricing compared to normal ESG activities lies in its consistency and efficiency. Once you commit to a virtually carbon-affected price system, every decision you make is one step greener than before.