Download Guest speaker: Dr. Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric

CCL Monthly Conference Call, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012
Groups meet at 9:45am PT/12:45pm ET
The international conference call starts at 10:00 am PT/1:00 pm ET
The conference call part of the meeting is a little over an hour long and the groups meet
for another hour after that to plan actions.
Call-in number: 1-866-642-1665 Pass code 440699#
Guest speaker: Dr. Kevin
Trenberth, National Center
for Atmospheric Research
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, there are many
questions about this disaster's connection to climate
change. For answers, we turn to Dr. Kevin E.
Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist in the
Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for
Atmospheric Research. From New Zealand, he
obtained his Sc. D. in meteorology in 1972 from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007
Scientific Assessment of Climate Change reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which went to the IPCC. He is listed
among the top 20 authors in highest citations in all of geophysics. He recently wrote in The
Scientist, “As Mark Twain said in the late 19th century, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but
nobody does anything about it.’ Now humans are changing the weather, and nobody does
anything about it! As we have seen this year, whether from drought, heat waves and wild fires, or
super storms, there is a cost to not taking action to slow climate change, and we are experiencing
this now.”
Actions:
1) Write letters to President Obama asking that he take the lead to address climate change
in his second term by getting Congress to enact a revenue-neutral carbon fee. Hand
written letters sent through the U.S. mail is the best.
2) Get businesses, organizations and communities of faith to sign on to CCL’s new letter
of support for a consumer-friendly carbon fee.
DECEMBER LASER TALK
President Obama needs to have
a ‘Lincoln’ moment on climate change
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, momentum is building to enact legislation that will put
a fee (tax) on carbon that quickly reduces the greenhouse gas emissions that are heating
up the Earth.
Surprisingly, three major oil companies – Exxon, Shell and BP – have publicly voiced
support for a fee on carbon. A statement signed by Shell and BP calls for “putting a clear,
transparent and unambiguous price on carbon emissions.”
So, if oil companies are calling for a fee on carbon, what’s stopping our government?
We need a national policy that will:
•
Put a steadily-rising fee on carbon emissions.
•
Return the revenue from that fee to the public to offset higher energy costs that
households have to pay.
•
Include border tariffs to protect American businesses from unfair foreign
competition.
Making this happen will require leadership from the White House. President Obama can
draw inspiration from the story of Lincoln, who overcame great political challenges at the
end of the Civil War to pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.
Like slavery, the issue of climate change is highly charged and bitterly divisive. But, like
slavery, climate change is an issue in search of a historic figure to lead our nation onto
the right path, a path that will lead to a better world for future generations.
President Obama must be that leader now.
ACTION
Ask Obama to lead on climate change
Write a personal letter to President Obama asking him to take the
lead during his second term to pass effective climate legislation.
In order to stay grounded and in touch with the American people, President Obama is
said to read 10 personal letters every day, letters selected by his staff. By having all of us
write letters to the President during our meetings this month, we will increase the chances
that our message will get through to him. Our message is to inspire Obama to become the
leader he needs to be at this particular moment to help the world avoid the worst effects
of climate change.
At your meeting this month, write a personal letter that:
•
Introduces yourself and shares something about you and why the climate issue is
important to you.
•
Acknowledges the things his administration has done in lieu of congressional
action – EPA regulations, auto fuel efficiency standards.
•
Tells him that we need a national fee on carbon emissions to wean our nation off
fossil fuels. The best approach is a steadily-rising fee that returns revenue to the
public.
•
Asks him to step up, as other great Presidents have done in perilous times, and do
whatever it takes to pass effective climate legislation.
We recommend that you show a 6-minute video from the White House about letters to
the President:
http://youtu.be/eG00mM8QEGk
Address:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
ACTION
Letter of support for climate legislation
Get businesses, organizations and communities of faith to sign CCL’s
letter of support for a consumer-friendly carbon fee.
As we gear up for the next Congress, we must build support for a revenue-neutral fee on
carbon. We can show members of Congress that support exists in their districts and states
for such legislation by getting businesses, organizations and faith groups to sign our letter
of support.
At your meeting this month:
 Review the letter (next page), having participants take turns reading portions of
the letter aloud.
 Take some time for everyone to start making a list of potentials signers they could
approach in their communities.
 Have participants share their lists with one another at the meeting.
 Assign a volunteer to manage and support volunteers in the group who are
contacting potential signers.
Congress: Put a fee on carbon to curb climate change
Nearly all the scientific experts agree on the basics of climate change. The Earth is warming. Humans are
doing it. It’s already harming us and other species. If we continue burning fossil fuels at recent rates, it poses
far more dangerous and significant risks for our children and grandchildren. We are approaching a dangerous
threshold whereby, if it is crossed, the earth will simply take the controls out of our hands, and tropical
forests, peat bogs, permafrost and the oceans will switch from absorbing carbon to releasing it.
We still have time to act—if we start in this decade. We know what to do. We have affordable, practical
solutions that don’t require great sacrifice. We can adopt a balanced approach. We can cut energy demand
with efficiency innovations and some additional conservation, and we can scale up energy supplies with
existing alternative technologies that don’t burn carbon.
Our first step has to be a big one. We can act fast enough to avoid the worst impacts of global warming only
if we put a federal fee on carbon fuels that reflects their true costs to society.
There is an emerging consensus among economists that the smartest approach is to enact a consumer-friendly
carbon fee in the following way:
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Goal. Reduce 2005 emissions levels 80% by 2050. It’s based on our best science, and adequate to do
the job.
Start small, Increase predictably. Increase the fee slowly but steadily until we hit our emission goals.
Businesses need predictable energy prices. The economy needs a smooth transition.
Easy to administer at home and to emulate abroad. The fee is collected only once—at the first point
of sale—the mine, wellhead or border crossing. We already collect sales taxes at these locations. It
doesn’t repeal, prevent or discourage any other private, state, regional, national or international
strategies from reducing greenhouse gas emissions using other taxes, tradable permits, regulations or
subsidies to alternative fuels. Also, it works in countries with diverse economies.
Revenue neutral. All the fees are returned to citizens to mitigate the economic impact. Government
keeps none of the funds.
Protects the vulnerable. For lower-income Americans, the refunds match or exceed increased energy
costs.
Protects business from unfair domestic and international competition using border taxes and credits.
Doesn’t play favorites. Lets markets and localities pick the winning technologies.
For the good of our nation, and to preserve a livable world for future generations, we urge you to enact this
revenue-neutral fee on carbon.
For organizations, businesses, faith communities:
NAME OF ORGANIZATION
CITY
CONTACT (NAME AND EMAIL)
For individuals:
NAME
ORGANIZATION
CITY
EMAIL