A National Plan to Reduce Emissions that Just May Work: Carbon Fee and Dividend

What ARE we going to do? 2014 is the warmest year on record with 2015 on track to be hotter yet. According to the IPCC, to keep average global temperature change below the widely accepted goal of 2C (3.6F), greenhouse gas emissions around the world need to fall by 40-70% in the next 35 years. We’re not talking about future generations any more. Many argue that these goals could be met with currently available efficiency and conservation solutions, but still, emissions rise. What’s missing? The Citizens’ Climate Lobby says, political will.

We need to turn this ship. One of the most promising suggestions is a plan called “carbon fee and dividend,” where a fee is placed on carbon emissions and dividends are paid back to the public—really, to you and me. In the United States, the charge to promote a nationwide carbon-fee-and-dividend program is being led by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL). This group promotes fees on the CO2 content of fossil fuels with all of the collected money returned to U.S. households in the form of a monthly dividend. (Border “adjustments” keep things fair for companies in the USA.)  

The CCL’s Advisory Board includes, among others, George Shultz, Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan and Dr. James Hansen, former director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and prominent early warner of human-made climate change. A recent article, “Everything you think you know about Republicans and climate change is wrong,” by the Executive Director of CCL, makes direct reference to the political crossover of support received by this approach. He describes Carbon Fee and Dividend as a widely palatable approach—it’s “market-friendly”, doesn’t “dictate” technologies, will “keep the federal government from getting bigger” and adds jobs. And, would “cut emissions in half within 20 years.”

We are very pleased to have Randy Gyory, representing the Lehigh Valley Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, as the speaker for our September meeting. He will explain CCL’s revenue-neutral Carbon Fee and Dividend Proposal and talk with us about how this plan–that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level that is “the best first-step” to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic climate change from global warming–could also garner the widespread support of both climate scientists and economists.  Randy will help us understand CCL’s activities and how we may become more involved.

We hope you can join us on Tuesday, September 29 at 7:00 at TEKPark (9999 Hamilton Boulevard, Breinigsville, PA 18031, between Kutztown and Allentown). Meetings are free and open to the public. After the meeting, please plan to stick around and chat with friends old and new. Light snacks will be served. Hope to see you there!

For questions, contact Vera Cole, [masked].

Free DVD with MAREA membership  While supplies last, all new and renewing MAREA members will receive a free copy of “Saving Sunshine, Keeping the Lights on with Batteries and Solar Power,” the 30-minute DVD produced by MAREA this year with funding from the Berks Community Foundation and distributed by Bullfrog Films. It’s terrific film, offering an interesting and easily understood explanation of the electricity grid and distribution generation, especially the role of batteries with solar. MAREA is a 501(c)3 non-profit. Donations and memberships are how we keep the lights on. You can join at the meeting or anytime online. Thanks for your help.