It will be a TAX on every energy consumer in the world (since energy is used to produce all items including those that are exported).
It won't actually DO anything to fix the environment, just fill government coffers; the money will be use to fly VIPs around to environmental confabs on private jets.
Actually, it will. The use of taxes to influence consumption is well-documented. It's basic economics: price increases, demand decreases (because demand is not completely inelastic). As less products are made, less resources will be used, which helps the environment.
Not all forms of energy invovle extracting a stable form of carbon from the earth.
Nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, all provide electricity and the "carbon tax" need only apply to energy sources that are a net carbon gain. The tipping point between wind and coal is really close so a tiny subsady over several years could replace all coal power plants with wind farms over time (think 40+ years).
You might suggest that effing with electricity production is a bad idea but there are huge discrepency's between the cost of electricity around the county and it does not have much impact.