Fight warming with fees
International experience shows that a carbon fee and dividend is a market-based approach that combats global warming.
Before
being repealed due to political pressure, Australia's carbon tax caused
greenhouse gas emissions to drop and the percentage of energy from
clean sources to rise. Even more impressively, British Columbia's carbon
tax, also enacted in 2008, is not only encouraging innovation and
reductions in emissions but has widespread support while fostering an
innovation-positive, business-friendly climate.
What is the
difference? The difference is that British Columbia's is
revenue-neutral. All revenue from the tax must be returned to British
Columbians. Their tax has actually turned out to be revenue-negative,
meaning that on average more money was returned to each household than
was spent.
The revenue-neutral fee and dividend proposed by the
Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) would also return 100% of proceeds to U.S.
households. A recent study by Regional Economic Modeling Inc. predicts
most American households will get back more than they spend. The British
Columbian experience proves it can happen. As former Secretary of State
George Schultz, a strong CCL proponent, says, "you can't call it a tax
if you return all the money."
Loren Alving
Fresno
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