In This Issue:
#1: Van Hollen Statement on US-China Agreement on Climate and Clean Energy
#2: Populareconomics.org: Marching to Cap and Dividend: An Idea That Can Break the Political Gridlock
#3: Grist.org, Dave Roberts: A Proposal to Save the Middle Class. . . by Cutting Carbon Pollution
#4: Ecowatch.org: Carbon Fee Introduced in the Senate
#5: Bloomberg Businessweek, Mark Hertzgaard: If It’s Good Enough for Big Oil
#6: Climate Hawks Vote Endorsement
#1: Van Hollen Statement on US-China Agreement on Climate and Clean Energy, November 12:
“The joint U.S.-China announcement is a significant step forward in the effort to reduce global carbon pollution and begin to address the real threats of severe climate change. I fully support these pledges and believe they will help set the stage for a strong international agreement in Paris next year. I also believe Congress can and should both reinforce and expand on this progress by passing comprehensive climate legislation like the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2014, a market-based plan I introduced earlier this year to auction carbon credits and return the proceeds to the American people.”
#2: Populareconomics.org: Marching to Cap and Dividend: An Idea That Can Break the Political Gridlock, November 5:
“Recently Australia, which was one of the first big countries to enact a carbon policy, has reversed course under a new conservative government. This was because of the lack of justice and simplicity. Australians knew they were paying more for energy-intensive things, but didn’t know where the money was going. With Cap and Dividend, it’s simple and transparent, it goes to all of us, which we then use to create a new economy with new jobs.”
#3: Grist.org, Dave Roberts: A Proposal to Save the Middle Class. . . by Cutting Carbon Pollution, November 10:
“There’s an elegance to it. And it’s the first proposal I’ve heard for restoring the middle class that doesn’t bank on the fantasy of high-paying jobs returning. It’s also a direct and transparent way to go after economic inequality. And it foregrounds communal American interests, which is nice in a time of polarization. Climate-wise, it has a declining carbon cap with auctioned permits, so it passes both environmental and economic muster.”
#4: Ecowatch.org, November 19: Carbon Fee Introduced in the Senate:
“The American Opportunity Carbon Fee Act would assess a fee for other greenhouse gas emissions in addition to carbon, but only on the largest polluters who emit more than 25,000 tons a year. The bill, Senator Whitehouse said, would level the playing field for clean technologies like wind and solar to compete with dirty energy sources. Whitehouse estimated the tax could generate between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion in the first decade.”
#5: Bloomberg Businessweek, Mark Hertzgaard: If It’s Good Enough for Big Oil, November 13:
“In a 2009 speech, ExxonMobil’s chief executive officer, Rex Tillerson, said if governments do price carbon, theyshould impose a revenue-neutral carbon tax. This ‘absolutely’ remains the company’s preference today, Jeffers told Bloomberg Businessweek. A similar option is a ‘cap-and-dividend’ system, whereby all revenue is returned to the public via an annual check (as Alaska does with its oil revenue). Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, has sponsored legislation to this effect.”
#6: Climate Hawks Vote Endorsement, November 1:
“The most interesting bill introduced in the 13th Congress from a climate hawk perspective is that by Chris Van Hollen, HR 5271, the Healthy Climate and Family Security Act. We score every bill introduced in Congress affecting climate, whether or not they’re given a chance of passing, for a few reasons. Bills introduced spark the national conversation. They can serve as trial balloons this Congress to pass in a later Congress. And occasionally we’re surprised, as in the case of climate hawk Matt Cartwright’s energy efficiency for schools bill, HR 4092. We rank bills from core to peripheral. Chris’ cap-and-dividend bill is, obviously, core to our mission of scoring leadership on climate. And if it passes it can mean the difference between a healthy planet and a perilous future.”
CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org.