Download CCLmediapacketJan 2015 v2-1

MEDIA PACKET, JAN. 20, 2015
State of our union is tied to the
state of our climate
Rather than erecting obstacles to action, Congress should enact
the market-based solution of a revenue-neutral fee on carbon
where the money collected is given back to households
As he has for several years now, President Obama used his State of the Union Address
to highlight the growing threat of climate change and to reaffirm his commitment –
despite Congress’ inability to act – to deal with the risks of unrestricted greenhouse
gas emissions.
"No challenge — no challenge — poses a greater threat to future generations than
climate change,” Obama said.
In the run up to Tuesday’s speech, Obama focused on the overlooked problem of
methane leakage, announcing that he would have the Environmental Protection
Agency develop rules for new oil and gas projects.
Obama had a little fun with the latest Republican talking point on the science of
climate change:
“I’ve heard some folks try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not
scientists; that we don’t have enough information to act. Well, I’m not a
scientist, either. But you know what – I know a lot of really good scientists at
NASA, and NOAA, and at our major universities. The best scientists in the
world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we
do not act forcefully, we’ll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat
waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can
trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe. The
Pentagon says that climate change poses immediate risks to our national
security. We should act like it.”
The President made it clear he would not let Congress undo the steps his
administration is taking to rein in global warming and lead other nations toward a
global climate agreement in Paris later this year:
“Over the past six years, we’ve done more than ever before to combat climate
change, from the way we produce energy, to the way we use it. That’s why
we’ve set aside more public lands and waters than any administration in
history. And that’s why I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our
children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make
sure American leadership drives international action. In Beijing, we made an
historic announcement – the United States will double the pace at which we
cut carbon pollution, and China committed, for the first time, to limiting their
emissions. And because the world’s two largest economies came together,
other nations are now stepping up, and offering hope that, this year, the world
will finally reach an agreement to protect the one planet we’ve got.”
2014 the hottest year
The President’s speech was set against of the backdrop of news days earlier that
2014 was the hottest year for the Earth in recorded history. Justin Gillis of the New
York Times reports:
Last year was the hottest on earth since record-keeping began in 1880,
scientists reported on Friday, underscoring warnings about the risks of
runaway greenhouse gas emissions and undermining claims by climate
change contrarians that global warming had somehow stopped.
Extreme heat blanketed Alaska and much of the western United States last
year. Records were set across large areas of every inhabited continent. And
the ocean surface was unusually warm virtually everywhere except near
Antarctica, the scientists said, providing the energy that fueled damaging
Pacific storms.
In the annals of climatology, 2014 surpassed 2010 as the warmest year. The
10 warmest years have all occurred since 1997, a reflection of the relentless
planetary warming that scientists say is a consequence of human activity and
poses profound long-term risks to civilization and nature…
Several scientists said the most remarkable thing about the 2014 record was
that it had occurred in a year that did not feature a strong El Niño, a largescale weather pattern in which the Pacific Ocean pumps an enormous amount
of heat into the atmosphere.
The growing risk of climate change
With each passing year, it becomes increasingly clear that the state of our union is
inextricably connected to the state of our climate. Last summer, a bipartisan coalition
of our nation’s top political and economic leaders issued the Risky Business report
listing the threats that climate change poses for our nation over the next century:


If we continue on our current path, by 2050 between $66 billion and $106
billion worth of existing coastal property will likely be below sea level
nationwide, with $238 billion to $507 billion worth of property below sea
level by 2100.
By mid-century, the Southwest, Southeast, and upper Midwest will likely see
several months of 95°F days each year.

Demand for electricity for air conditioning will surge in those parts of the
country facing the most extreme temperature increases, straining regional
generation and transmission capacity and driving up costs for consumers.

As extreme heat spreads across the middle of the country by the end of the
century, some states in the Southeast, lower Great Plains, and Midwest risk up
to a 50% to 70% loss in average annual crop yields (corn, soy, cotton, and
wheat), absent agricultural adaptation.
Congress’ failure to act
Despite these risks, not to mention the destabilizing impact of global warming
throughout the rest of the world, Congress has consistently failed to enact any
legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thereby reduce those risks. With
no solution forthcoming from federal lawmakers, President Obama took the initiative
two years ago by announcing his Climate Action Plan, which will use EPA regulations
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing power plants.
The response from Republicans in Washington, who now control both the House and
Senate, has been to attack the President’s climate agenda at every step. Last week,
House Speaker John Boehner once again declined to acknowledge that climate
change is driven primarily by human activity, saying, “"I'll let scientists debate sources
and their opinion of that change."
As The Hill reported:
Boehner said the "real question" that should be asked is why "every proposal
we see out of the administration with regard to climate change means killing
American jobs…
"The American people are still asking the question, 'Where are the jobs?' I just
don't understand why every proposal that comes out of administration is
going to kill thousands and thousands of more American jobs."
While the Speaker’s assertion that the President’s proposals put Americans out of
work is debatable, nevertheless, we have an answer to the pressing question: Where
are the jobs?
Cut carbon while creating jobs
If Congress is looking for a policy to boost employment in America, Carbon Fee and
Dividend is the tool to make it happen. It also provides a free-market alternative for
cutting carbon emissions rather than relying on government regulations.
It works this way:
A steadily-rising fee is placed on the carbon dioxide content of fossil fuels with
revenue from that fee returned to households in equal shares. To protect American
businesses, border tariffs are placed on imports from nations that lack an equivalent
carbon price, providing the motivation for other nations to adopt similar policies.
A study from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) – released last summer by
Citizens’ Climate Lobby – looked at the impact of a fee starting at $10 per ton of CO2
that rose $10 per ton each year. In the study, all the revenue from the fee was divided
equally among every household and returned as monthly payments. The
aforementioned border tariffs were also factored in.
After 20 years, CO2 emissions were cut in half and 2.8 million jobs were added to the
economy. The job growth comes primarily from the stimulus effect of recycling
carbon fee revenue into the pockets of people who are likely to spend the money.
Off Capitol Hill, a number of prominent Republicans are speaking up for revenueneutral carbon pricing, including former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and
former Secretary of State George Shultz, who told CCL, “It’s not a tax if the
government doesn’t keep the money.”
President Obama has laid out the steps he’s willing to take to protect our nation and
the world from the ravages of climate change. Rather than erecting obstacles to
Obama’s initiatives, Congress should provide an effective alternative that reduces the
harmful effects, already being felt, of global warming. The market-based approach of
Carbon Fee and Dividend is the solution all sides can embrace.
CONTACT: [email protected], 404-769-7461