The federal government should use Tuesday's budget to put a price on carbon emissions, environmentalist David Suzuki said Monday.

Suzuki said a carbon price could take the form of an emission tax, a cap-and-trade system, or a combination of both.

"I think the federal government has a tremendous opportunity at this moment, because there is a growing sense that is the right thing to do," Suzuki told CBC News.

The call for a carbon tax — called a pollution tax by Suzuki — was contained in a report prepared for the David Suzuki Foundation by M.K. Jaccard and Associates and EnviroEconomics.

The report says that a carbon tax or cap-and-trade plan could generate between $50 billion and $100 billion in revenue by 2020.

Revenue generated from a carbon price could then be used to lower personal income tax for Canadians. Suzuki also said revenue from the tax could be put into renewable energy, home energy efficiency improvements, and public transportation.

Suzuki said he expects the NDP and Bloc Québécois would support the plan, but was unsure if the Liberals will go along with it.

On Feb. 19, the government of British Columbia said all carbon-based fuels — including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, propane, coal and home heating fuel — will be taxed at $10 per tonne of greenhouse gases generated, starting July 1, 2008. That will mean a new 2.4 cents per litre tax on gasoline at the pump and 2.8 cents per litre for home heating fuel.

The tax rate will rise by $5 a year for the next four years, until it hits $30 per tonne in 2012. The tax will generate an estimated $1.85 billion over three years, but the B.C. government plans to return the money to taxpayers in the form of tax breaks.

"British Columbia now, I'm proud to say, is leading the way in North America with a really ground-breaking carbon-neutral, revenue-neutral carbon tax, and I think this is something that we've got to see," Suzuki said.

Suzuki's group was not the only one on Monday calling for the government to introduce a carbon tax.

"Canada needs a massive scale-up of effort in fighting climate change, and that has to start with a strong carbon price," said Matthew Bramley of the Pembina Institute. "It also requires major new investments in energy efficiency and low-impact renewable energy. Right now, Canada is at the back of the class, and that has to change."