I hope the mainstream media picks up this story soon, while the latest climate assessment story is still in the news. It’s not often we see ‘bipartisan’ and ‘climate action’ together.
On November 27th a bipartisan group in the House of Representatives introduced a bill to tax emissions and redistribute the proceeds as a check to citizens.
I've thought about this approach for years, as it leaves it up to consumers how best to use their dividend to reduce their greenhouse gas impact. It keeps politicians from trying to play favorites with subsidies, etc. I'm surprised something this important hasn't been mentioned in the media yet.
This might be superior to Washington's failed I-1631 carbon tax initiative. Objections to that measure focused on having an unelected board decide how the funds were distributed. Giving equal shares back to citizens eliminates that problem. It's estimated that 70% of people would come out ahead, receiving more in dividends than they spend in extra fossil fuel-related costs.
Update: I did the math to see how much the $15/ton initial tax would add to a gallon of E10 gasoline: 14 cents. This does not include any reduction in price caused by tax-induced weakened demand.
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