Representatives should support a carbon fee and dividend

Our representative, Doc Hastings, writes that as part of balancing the national budget, an all-of-the-above energy plan “creates more jobs and lowers energy bills, and it overhauls the federal tax code to boost wages, bring more jobs home, and make our manufacturers and entrepreneurs more competitive.” (4/17/14, p. 4).

This energy plan includes the continued use of fossil fuels—coal, oil, natural gas—that emit carbon dioxide (CO2). Volunteers from the Citizens’ Climate Lobby have been urging Doc and fellow Republicans to enact a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend legislative proposal to tackle the problems that fossil fuels pose, and to transition to clean fuel sources, restore prosperity to our economy, and create millions of long-term, localized jobs.

Use of fossil fuels incurs many overt and hidden economic and military costs. We taxpayers subsidize fossil fuels each year with tens of billions of dollars. Coal alone has hidden costs, mainly to health, of about $180-530 billion per year.

It’s less expensive to reduce CO2 emissions than to suffer climate damages which cost $110 billion in 2012 in the US. According to the National Climatic Data Center, “The 2012 billion-dollar events included seven severe weather and tornado events, two tropical cyclone events, and the yearlong drought and its associated wildfires.

These 11 events killed over 300 people and had devastating economic effects on the areas impacted.” Look at the droughts in California and Texas.

Economic impacts from climate change on our regional agriculture include changes in crop productivity; increased stress from invasive weeds, diseases, and pests; and extreme events, such as heat, drought, and flooding.

Fossil fuel-related jobs don’t create as many jobs as renewables: oil and natural gas create 0.8 jobs per $1 million output; coal creates 1.9 jobs. But building energy-efficiency retrofits create 7.9, solar power 5.4, wind power 4.6, and smart grid 4.3 jobs per $1M output.

We can price carbon-based fuels and transition to smarter fuels. (1) Apply a $15/ton of CO2 fee to carbon-based fuels; (2) collect the fee at the point where the fuel enters our economy; (3) base the fee on the CO2 the fuel will release when it’s burned; (4) steadily increase the fee by $10 each year; (5) return 100 percent of the fee to households as a monthly dividend; (6) put a border tax adjustment to protect our domestic companies.

Then: (1) companies and consumers will adapt and demand lower-carbon intensity fuels; (2) low-carbon consumer goods choices become available; (3) no new government bureaucracy is created; (4) we avoid government regulation; (5) we create millions more jobs here; (6) we reduce our CO2 emissions and start on the path towards stabilizing our climate by 2100.

Doc is correct: we do need to “ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a stronger, more prosperous America.”

We can do this by supporting a carbon fee and dividend “best first step” solution to also help us balance our budget.

Please urge Doc and potential representatives to support a carbon fee and dividend.

Thank you!

Alexandra Amonette, Richland