In February, the Climate Leadership Council, including former Secretaries of State James Baker III and George Schultz and former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, proposed a revenue-neutral plan to put a tax on carbon emissions (starting at $40 a ton and increasing annually - with an estimated initial 36 cents per gallon increase on gasoline) and to rebate all the money raised as dividends to citizens.
Baker argues that the risks associated with climate change - even for skeptics like himself - are too great to ignore. He quotes U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who publicly backed a carbon tax as CEO of ExxonMobil: "Replacing the hodge-podge of current, largely ineffective regulations with a revenue-neutral carbon tax would ensure a uniform and predictable cost of carbon across the economy."
The Citizens Climate Lobby advocates for the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus and a Fee & Dividend plan. (The Caucus now has 24 congressional members, including 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans from 14 states.)
There are three main legs to the CCL proposed plan: a fee on carbon at the point of origin; a dividend to be returned 100 percent to all citizens (except for minor administrative costs); and border adjustments so other countries cannot bring in fossils cheaper than those in the U.S., thus encouraging global solutions.
As energy prices increase, the bottom two-thirds of citizens could come out ahead on their energy budgets; heavier users might not, but could likely afford increases. The existing structure of Social Security could be utilized for dividend distribution. See www.citizensclimatelobby.org.
With either very similar plan (George Schultz works with both groups), transparency is maximized, administrative complexity is reduced, renewables become relatively cheaper, global participation is promoted, and plans can easily be adjusted as needed. Check out both websites.
Twenty-eight years after Bill McKibben's 1989 book "The End of Nature," we are much deeper in the hole; we need to quit digging.
Marilyn McCord
Vallecito
