Editor’s note: This commentary is by Dana Drugmand, of South Royalton, who recently completed an internship with the Vermont Natural Resources Council in the Energy and Climate Action program. She will graduate this month from Vermont Law School with a master’s degree in environmental law and policy.
[I]f we are to have a shot at salvaging our home planet that sustains us, we have to move swiftly past petty partisanship and work collectively towards constructive solutions. One such solution that is attracting bipartisan support is to leverage a price on carbon pollution. It is founded upon, and therefore appeals to, conservative ideals because it is a simple, market-based mechanism designed to steer the economy towards low-carbon innovation and enterprises. It can even allow for tax cuts on income for people and businesses or other reforms to the tax code.
Prominent former Republican Cabinet members like Henry Paulson Jr. and James A. Baker III are now advocating for a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend. As they write in “The Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends”: “such a plan could strengthen our economy, benefit working-class Americans, reduce regulations, protect our natural heritage and consolidate a new era of Republican leadership.” The risks of climate change, they argue, are so severe that we can’t afford not to at least have an “insurance policy.”
These prominent conservatives are not alone. Our military commanders warn that failing to address the climate problem is a danger to our national security. Corporate and business leaders are realizing that the future is in clean, sustainable energy and many companies now include an internal carbon price in their operations.
Whether you’re conservative or liberal, young or old, we are all in the same ship, and it’s sinking fast.
Even ExxonMobil supports a carbon fee as a preferred tool for curtailing emissions. The corporation’s new CEO, Darren Woods, explained in a recent blog post: “A uniform price of carbon applied consistently across the economy is a sensible approach to emissions reduction. One option being discussed by policymakers is a national revenue-neutral carbon tax. This would promote greater energy efficiency and the use of today’s lower-carbon options, avoid further burdening the economy, and also provide incentives for markets to develop additional low-carbon energy solutions for the future.” Before him, former ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson – now the U.S. secretary of state – also articulated his support for a tax on carbon pollution.
A national carbon tax may be a ways off given the current political climate in Washington. But here in Vermont, as well as in many other states across the Northeast and the nation, legislators are actively considering this policy. Our neighbors in New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire all have pending legislation relating to a fee on carbon pollution. Just as we have to reach across the political aisle, states will likely have to look beyond their own borders and work collaboratively in taking on the climate challenge.
The bottom line is that the world is transitioning away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy – and companies joining in this transition are seeing benefits to their bottom lines. Even the fossil fuel companies, for the most part, understand that their product will not be fueling civilization indefinitely and forever (lest we literally burn up the planet). They see the writing on the wall. Rather than fighting the inevitable, they could facilitate it by evolving into providers of non-fossilized energy and energy efficiency. Doing so would benefit not only our climate but also our economy, since clean energy is currently its fastest growing sector – and arguably the biggest economic development opportunity this world has ever seen.
The climate movement has a saying, “To change everything we need everyone.” Whether you’re conservative or liberal, young or old, we are all in the same ship, and it’s sinking fast. We need all hands on deck. Fighting is futile, but cooperation is constructive. States, this nation and the world will put a price on carbon pollution. It’s only a matter of time.
