To the Editor:
Imagine a world where climate change is abated, and humans are no longer polluting our atmosphere with 50 billion tons of greenhouse gases annually. This world of better health, protected food supplies and fewer devastating weather events can be achieved in time to avert an irreversible calamity to all life on earth. The necessary step to achieving this goal is national policies that put a price on carbon with an accompanying border adjustment.
A carbon tax would impose a fee on coal, natural gas, and petroleum, including gasoline and other products, based on how much carbon is released when they are burned. Pricing carbon dioxide is the most efficient way to cut emissions and it incentivizes free enterprise to find the best path to net zero. The accompanying border adjustment would apply a tariff on goods from countries that don’t have a carbon pricing mechanism of their own. This would keep industries from trying to gain a competitive advantage by moving to countries without a carbon tax.
Momentum for pricing carbon is growing internationally. On July 14, the European Union unveiled a carbon pricing plan that will reduce the emissions from this 27-country group 61% by 2030. This initiative includes a border adjustment for products imported from countries that have not priced carbon. The revenue from this defacto carbon tax on imported products will go into the E.U. treasury. One can see the adverse impact on American competitiveness if products were assessed this tax upon importation into other countries. This disadvantage would go away if the U.S. had its own internal price on carbon.
Multiple bills have been introduced in Congress that would price U.S. carbon emissions and impose a border adjustment on imported products from countries without a similar carbon policy. The major difference between these bills is what happens to the collected revenue. My favorite disposition is to distribute it all equally through a monthly check to American households.
What is needed to get these policy options adjudicated and passed is Republican involvement. Senators Rubio and Scott need to be engaged to apply their leadership to this effort. This should be an urgent priority. You could also call President Biden’s White House and tell him that the current climate change element in the Democrat’s $3.5T reconciliation package is missing a carbon pricing policy. It does include a border adjustment, but its carbon mitigation element features regulations, mandates, and subsidies. This approach is expensive and will not be effective in getting to net zero in time. Neither will it be considered as equivalent to the carbon pricing being proposed by other countries, thus disadvantaging American exporters confronted with foreign border adjustments.
Our role in this endeavor is to exert our political will on our elected representatives every chance we get. Can you make a call or two?
Steven Hendrickson
Village of Mallory Square
