It’s easy to feel helpless, depressed and overwhelmed about the recent news of climate-related disasters affecting Colorado. Increased temperatures and drought intensify our vulnerability to wildfires, crop loss, low river and reservoir levels, an ever-shortening ski season, and reduced tourist revenue. Carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere continue to rise, topping 420 ppm in March, despite temporary reductions in global emissions due to the pandemic.
There is a ray of hope on the horizon: growing support for putting a price on carbon. This solution leverages the power of the market to propel us toward net zero emissions by 2050. Economists overwhelmingly promote pricing carbon. More than 3,500 US economists signed a joint statement endorsing a carbon dividends framework for U.S. climate policy.
National carbon pricing legislation has recently been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 2307) arrives at a critical time, with Congress in the process of crafting a package of solutions likely to be considered this summer. The plan charges coal, gas, and oil companies a greenhouse gas pollution fee and returns the revenue back to Americans as monthly cash-back carbon dividends. The dividend protects lower- and middle-income individuals during the transition to a clean energy economy. The fee gives businesses a predictable price signal, driving innovation toward the most efficient, affordable clean energy solutions.
In a recent major policy shift, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it “supports a market-based approach, like carbon pricing, to “accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the U.S. economy.”
Citizens Climate Lobby spokesman Kyle Kammien, praised the chamber, which represents companies of all sizes across every sector of the economy.
“We are glad to see [the U.S. Chamber] recognize this is a solution that works for people, the planet and businesses. Their stance will help build more support in Congress for a durable, bipartisan climate solution.”
Major corporations and business organizations voicing support for carbon pricing include Business Roundtable, American Petroleum Institute, Ford, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) told The New York Times that he is “very open to a carbon tax, carbon dividend, where there’s a tax on oil companies and coal companies ... and the funds that are raised then go to individual taxpayers so they could meet the costs of the higher price of energy.”
Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) has made carbon dividends a cornerstone of his climate agenda, calling it a critical component of the necessary market incentives to reduce emissions while also promoting U.S. economic growth.
The scientific community also backs carbon pricing. The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that explicit carbon pricing is “a necessary condition of ambitious climate policies.”
Twenty national faith organizations have endorsed carbon pricing, including the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action. Pope Francis said carbon pricing is “essential” to stem global warming.
Finally, carbon pricing finds support with key members of President Biden’s administration. Climate envoy John Kerry wrote that we should “place a price on carbon pollution so we change behavior and incentivize action.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is “fully supportive of effective carbon pricing” adding during her confirmation hearing, “I know the president is as well.”
Wide support across multiple sectors of society gives lawmakers the signal to vote for upcoming climate legislation. Our members of Congress, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Sen. Michael Bennet and Sen. John Hickenlooper need to hear our support for carbon pricing. We are at a critical juncture. We must act quickly and decisively.
Susan Atkinson is a member of Durango’s chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby.
