National

What Needs to Happen on a National Level?

The single most important policy for addressing climate change is getting a price on carbon that reflects the actual cost of fossil fuel to our economy and environment. This will make burning fossil fuels more expensive and rapidly move investment into renewable energy. Here are the principals we believe need to be included in a policy that is effective and fair:

  1. We need a carbon pricing policy.
  2. We need a cap on how much carbon may be put into the atmosphere in a given year, based on the scientific imperative.
  3. We need policy that addresses regressivity (the impact of rising energy prices on middle and lower income people).
  4. There needs to be a rebate, or dividend, or some kind of compensation provided.

Cap & Dividend is a policy that meets all these criteria.  How does this this approach work?

Cap & Dividend:

  • A cap is placed on all carbon-based fuels as they enter the econ­omy.  The cap declines 80 percent over 40 years.
  • Carbon permits are issued up to each year’s cap.   Fuel com­panies bid for these permits at competitive auctions.  No special interests are favored.
  • Income from permit sales is recycled to all Californians in equal monthly or annual divi­dends.  The dividends cushion the higher energy prices caused by carbon cap­ping.
  • As the cap declines, private investment pours into con­­ser­vation, efficiency and clean alterna­tives.  Hundreds of thousands of new jobs are created.
  • As carbon prices rise, so — automatically — do dividends.  Family incomes are pro­tected no matter how high carbon prices go.
  • Individually, how you fare depends on what you do.  The more carbon intensive energy you use, the more you pay.  Since everyone gets the same amount back, you gain if you con­serve and lose if you guzzle.

Further recommended reading is the clear and compelling 22-page “Carbon Capping: A Citizen’s Guide” by Peter Barnes.

Find out what’s happening at the state and national levels.

So What is Really Happening?

After the ambivalent results in Cancun, Elizabeth Kolbert in The New Yorker reminds us of how bleak the prospects are for national climate and energy legislation right now. One more reason why local, regional and state action are so important now. To read her article>

Here’s some great legislation Climate Protection Campaign supported back in 2009:

The 2009/2010 CLEAR Act: Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal

(Office of Senator Maria Cantwell - December 2009)

CLEAR Act Powerpoint Overview
AARP_Endorse_3910
Economist_on_Cantwell

 

Santa Rosa City Council votes 7-0 to endorse CAP and DIVIDEND!

Here they are seen holding a dividend check, which a National Cap and Dividend policy would make possible for all Americans.
Shown in the image L-R are: Mike Sandler, Vice Mayor Gary Wysocky, Councilmember Veronica Jacobi, Mayor Susan Gorin, Councilmember Marsha Vas Dupre, Councilmember Jane Bender, Ann Hancock, Caroline Fowler, Councilmember Ernesto Olivares, and Councilmember John Sawyer

Cantwell, Collins Propose Carbon Auction: Bill Reduces Emissions, Returns Revenue to Consumers

(U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington - December 11, 2009)

Bipartisan climate bill uses simple system to reduce global warming pollution and spur clean-energy job growth
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce global warming pollution, spur job growth in clean energy technology, and return money directly to consumers. The Cantwell-Collins Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal (CLEAR) Act would set up a mechanism for selling “carbon shares” to fuel producers and would return most of the resulting revenue in checks to every American. The legislation will achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 20 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050.

“Energy is a six-trillion dollar market opportunity, and green jobs can transform the U.S. economy,” Senator Cantwell said. “But we need a signal on carbon so that this can happen. This bill provides a simple approach to getting off of carbon and on to clean energy alternatives. The CLEAR Act provides businesses and investors with a simple, predictable mechanism that will open the way to clean energy expansion while achieving America’s goals of reducing carbon emission.”

Along with the legislation, Cantwell issued a report today detailing the positive economic impact of the dividends to be returned directly to consumers. According to the report, a typical family of four would receive tax-free monthly checks from the government averaging $1,100 per year, or $21,000 between 2012 and 2030.

Senator Collins said: “This bill addresses the most significant energy and environmental challenges facing our country. It would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, promote alternative energy and energy conservation, and advance the goal of energy independence for our nation. Climate change legislation must protect consumers and industries that could be hit with higher energy prices. Such legislation also must provide predictability so that businesses can plan, invest, and create jobs. Finally, climate change legislation should encourage adoption of energy efficiency measures and the further development of renewable energy, which would spur our economy and job creation. The CLEAR Act achieves all of these goals.”

Cantwell and Collins highlighted the findings of a recent report by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law that concluded: “carbon pricing is the only signal that can cut through the noise and direct diverse economic actors towards smart, green investments – investments that will create jobs, encourage technological development, and maximize returns.”

By establishing a predictable price on the carbon associated with fossil fuels, the bill provides the business incentive needed to develop and deploy clean energy technology. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that over the next half-century, the investment needed to meet global energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions will reach $45 trillion.

Producers would bid in monthly auctions for “carbon shares.” The resulting revenue generated by the auctions is used for two vital functions:

  • 75 percent would be refunded to every individual residing legally in the United States. This dividend would more than compensate for the increase in carbon-based fuel that producers would pass on to consumers.
  • The remaining 25 percent would be used exclusively toward clean energy research and development, regionally-specific assistance for communities and workers transitioning to a clean energy economy, energy efficiency programs, and reductions in non-CO2 greenhouse gases.

“The President has taken our shared emission-reduction goals to the Copenhagen conference and the response there underscores global interest tackling the problem. It also shows that there will be a highly competitive international business environment for leadership in clean-energy technology,” Cantwell said.

Cantwell and Collins said they look forward to working with other colleagues, especially Senators Boxer, Kerry, Lieberman, and McCain, as the Senate tackles the carbon emission problem.

U.S. Climate Legislation: Will it help or hurt our economy?

(Printed in the Press Democrat on July 3, 2009)
If Congress passes climate legislation this year, it will likely initiate one of the largest transfers of wealth in American history - hundreds of billions of dollars over time. Who will benefit and who will lose? The answer depends on what approach Congress takes over the coming months.

Scientists are nearly unanimous in calling for immediate and dramatic reductions in manmade greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of cutting them 80 to 90 percent by the year 2050. The scale and speed necessary to reduce fossil fuel consumption, the primary culprit in global warming pollution, to this level is staggering. We need to fundamentally restructure our energy infrastructure and realign our economy.

Last week the House of Representatives narrowly passed a piece of legislation called the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA). This complex bill of over 1200 pages is the result of wheeling and dealing in the House, with key provisions being weakened as it made its way to the floor. Although the bill has many positive features, at its heart is a flawed cap and trade scheme.

Cap and trade creates a cap on the maximum amount of greenhouse gas that may be emitted in the atmosphere. The cap slowly lowers over time. Permits to pollute up to the limit of the cap are either sold or distributed to companies that bring fossil fuels into the economy. Companies that do not need to use all their permits can sell them on the market to less efficient companies.

For this mechanism to be effective, 100 percent of these emission allowances must be auctioned to polluters. Unfortunately, ACESA would give away 85 percent of the permits, with 22 percent going to coal, oil and energy-intensive industries like cement and aluminum. Six-hundred economists signed a letter warning that giving free permits will create windfall profits for companies. A recent EPA analysis concludes that free permits raise the cost of implementing a carbon cap significantly and disportionately impact middle and low income people. Obama’s Budget Director Peter Orzag has called free emission rights “corporate welfare.”

Selling emission permits will generate hundreds of billions of dollars. What is the best use of this revenue? We believe that the answer is plain. Because the sky belongs to all of us, these funds should be directly transferred to the American people.
The public is going to need the money to contend with higher energy prices. A study done by the Congressional Budget Office showed that a 15 percent reduction in carbon emissions will cost the average family $1161 a year in increased energy costs. ACESA resolves this problem by allocating 30 percent of the revenue to local utility companies and requiring them to keep energy prices low to help consumers. This is an unnecessarily complicated approach of dubious efficacy. It will keep the cost of dirty energy like coal low. The opposite should happen: Fossil fuel prices need to rise to reflect their true cost. Moreover this will accelerate the development of renewable energy like solar and wind at the speed and scale needed.

If ACESA becomes law, the fossil fuel industry wins and people and the planet lose. Fortunately there is an alternative. Congressman Chris Van Hollen introduced a  Cap and Dividend bill that will cap carbon emissions, auction 100% of the permits and rebate all the money as dividends to the American people. Both Reps. Mike Thompson and Lynn Woolsey are co-sponsors of Van Hollen’s bill. This bill would shift private investment into renewable energy, protect consumers and create millions of new green jobs without additional government spending.

Optimally the cap and trade provisions in ACESA will be replaced by Cap and Dividend, an approach recently endorsed by the editors of Scientific American magazine. We suggest urging Senators to adopt Cap and Dividend. Otherwise hold on to your wallet and prepare for a massive transfer of wealth from taxpayers to large corporations.

Barry Vesser
Deputy Director
Climate Protection Campaign

Democrats in the House and Senate say that Congress will not take up comprehensive climate and energy legislation in 2011.  (see Senate Whimps Out by Ann Hancock) There are simply too many climate deniers with seats in the House.  However, in the Senate, there may be new energy legislation proposed in 2011 that involve smaller steps to fund research and provide incentives for fossil fuels and clean energy alternatives.

 

Obama has promised to use current law to regulate greenhouse gasses, but the Clean Air Act is under attack too.

 

 

Senator Barbara Boxer
Washington, D.C. Office:
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553
Email Senator Boxer
Senator Dianne Feinstein
Washington, D.C. Office:
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C 20510-0504
(202) 224-3841
Email Senator Feinstein

Reminder: In this era of digital media, email and online petitions, the handwritten, stamped, and snail-mailed letter has more significance than ever.
For a great analysis of the legislation in the Senate last year by our advisor Peter Barnes on Grist, click here

Feel like National legislation is going nowhere this year?

  • Get inspired by what’s going on at the global level
  • Join CPC in creating local models which demonstrate the truth of Climate Change Legislation:  It creates jobs, a better quality of life and, “If you think mitigated climate change is expensive, try unmitigated climate change.”—Dr. Richard Gammon