Download Media Packet for Earth Day 2017

EARTH DAY 2017
With White House rolling back climate rules,
Congress must step in to reduce emissions
The president’s order to gut
the Clean Power Plan without
a replacement to fight climate
change will lead to disaster.
It’s time for Congress to enact
a market-based solution by
placing a fee on carbon and
returning revenue to
households.
Earth Day arrives this year with serious questions about America’s commitment to
preserve a clean environment and limit the risks posed by climate change. On March
28, President Trump signed an executive order that…
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Instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to “revise” the Clean Power
Plan, President Obama’s initiative to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from
U.S. power plants 32 percent by 2030. The plan is currently on hold awaiting
the resolution of legal challenges. Trump has also instructed the Department
of Justice to stop defending the plan in court.
Ends the moratorium, implemented in January 2016, on coal leases on public
land.
Orders the EPA to stop calculating the social cost of carbon – now pegged at
$36 per ton of carbon dioxide – when developing new rules.
Rolls back regulations that limit the venting and flaring of methane emissions
from oil and gas projects on federal land.
Faced with numerous impacts from climate change – rising seas, warmer
temperatures, more severe weather, wildfires, health risks – Obama initiated
several steps to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global
warming. These steps became necessary when Congress failed in 2010 to enact
legislation to price carbon. When control of the House of Representatives shifted to
Republicans in 2011, efforts to legislate climate solutions came to a screeching halt.
Using authority granted under the Clean Air Act, Obama ordered the EPA to address
climate change through regulatory action, including the Clean Power Plan.
Although the administration has deferred any decision on whether to remain in the
Paris climate agreement, President Trump’s executive order casts great doubt on
the ability of the U.S. to honor its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 26% 28% below 2005 levels by 2025. With the U.S. being the second biggest emitter of
carbon dioxide behind China, coming up short on the Paris commitment would be a
tremendous setback in global efforts to keep temperatures from warming more than
2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Crossing the 2C threshold, scientists
warn, will lead to catastrophic consequences that the world is ill-prepared to handle
– food shortages, coastal flooding, epidemics, mass migrations, destabilized nations.
A market-based solution
With the executive branch now shirking any responsibility to deal with climate
change, Congress must step into the breach. America can meet its obligation – and
then some – with a market-based solution that appeals to policymakers across the
political spectrum: a steadily rising fee on carbon with revenue returned to
households.
Known as Carbon Fee and Dividend, the policy would assess a fee on the carbon
dioxide content of fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – at or near the first point sale. The
fee would start at $15 per ton of CO2 and increase $10 per ton each year, sending a
powerful signal to the marketplace that moves investments and behavior toward
clean energy and efficiency. At the same time, revenue from the fee would be
returned equally to all households, shielding families from the economic impact of
the carbon fee, with many households actually coming out ahead. In order to
maintain a level playing field for American businesses, a border adjustment tariff
would be applied to imports from nations that lack an equivalent price on carbon.
Revenue from that fee would be used for rebates to American exporters shipping to
countries that don’t price carbon at a similar rate.
How effective is this policy?
A study released in 2014 by Regional Economic Models, Inc. examined the proposal
to determine its environmental and economic impact over a 20 year period. The
REMI study found that after 20 years, the policy would cut CO2 emissions by half. In
a finding that shatters the myth that carbon pricing would destroy the economy, the
study showed that Carbon Fee and Dividend would ADD 2.8 million jobs, primarily
because of increased spending in labor-intensive industries as a result of the
dividend.
Because it employs market forces rather than regulations to accomplish its
objectives, Carbon Fee and Dividend enjoys a great deal of support from
conservatives. In fact, a group of Republicans who came together to form the
Climate Leadership Council released a similar plan in February. Their proposal, The
Conservative Case for Carbon Dividends, starts at a higher price -- $40 per ton of CO2
– but increases at a slower rate. Republican elder statesmen promoting this policy
include former Reagan Secretary of State George Shultz, former Bush Sr. Secretary of
State James Baker, and Henry Paulson, former Treasury Secretary under George W.
Bush.
Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) speaks at a press conference following the introduction of the
Republican climate resolution (Photo by Hannah Hess/E&E News).
Hopeful signs in Congress
What are the chances that Congress will act? The odds are much better than most
people realize.
Early in 2016, Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo and Democrat Ted Deutch
formed the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House. The caucus, now with
34 members, has equal numbers from both sides of the aisle. It creates a space free
of partisan rancor where Democrats and Republicans can come together to listen to
one another, share ideas and find common ground for effective solutions to climate
change. Many Republicans in Congress understand the risks inherent in a changing
climate, and they want to take action. Encouraged by their constituents, more and
more are joining the Climate Solutions Caucus.
Last month, 17 Republicans in the House, led by Elise Stefanik (NY), Ryan Costello
(PA) and Curbelo, introduced a resolution calling on the House to commit to…
“working constructively, using our tradition of American ingenuity,
innovation, and exceptionalism, to create and support economically viable,
and broadly supported private and public solutions to study and address the
causes and effects of measured changes to our global and regional climates,
including mitigation efforts and efforts to balance human activities that have
been found to have an impact.”
Climate Solutions Caucus co-chair Curbelo has emerged as a true leader among
Republicans on the climate issue. When EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt cast doubt
on the link between climate change and CO2 emissions, Curbelo issued a statement
calling Pruitt’s comments “reckless and unacceptable.” Curbelo also wrote a letter to
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging the administration to remain in the Paris
climate agreement.
On the day Trump signed his executive order to roll back climate rules, Curbelo
issued a critical statement:
“…today’s rollback of emission standards is misguided. Climate change is
occurring and it is not a coincidence global temperatures have risen at the
same time tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide have been added to the
atmosphere. We see the effects of climate change firsthand in South Florida,
resulting in rising sea-levels, bleached coral reefs, and salt water intrusion.
Climate change is also a threat to our national security and local economies
across the country. We cannot, and must not, ignore these challenges.
“I continue to believe economic growth and dealing with this threat are not
mutually exclusive… Weak environmental policies ultimately lead to the
destruction of jobs and quality of life. I hope the Administration will work
with me and my colleagues in the Climate Solutions Caucus to Act on this in a
responsible, bipartisan way going forward, but today that is clearly not the
case.”
While GOP members of the Climate Solutions Caucus have not yet backed a revenueneutral carbon fee, with enough support in their districts from constituents,
community leaders and local newspapers, Republicans on the caucus could be
persuaded to sign on.
This Earth Day, as we take stock of the state of our world and the steps needed to
preserve a hospitable climate, Americans should be alarmed by the callous
disregard the current administration has toward the threat of global warming.
Fortunately, we have another branch of government that can correct Trump’s
misguided policies. By enacting a fee on carbon with revenue returned to
households, Congress can avert disaster, create jobs and reassert U.S. leadership on
the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced.