How do we stand up to Putin and avert a climate catastrophe at the same time?
Quitting our addiction to fossil fuels.
Here’s how we get there.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the West has snapped a series of
sanctions into place.
Russia is the world’s second largest crude oil exporter
and the primary source of global natural gas.
Regardless of the short-term effects on our pocketbooks, over the longer term we need
to transition to renewable energies if we have
any hope of keeping the earth habitable, and freeing our economy from the influence of
geopolitical foes.
This is where a carbon dividends come in.
It works like this.
We put a hard cap on the amount of carbon we allow into the economy.
Permits up to this cap would be issued, and energy companies could buy them in quarterly
auctions.
At every mine, refinery, and port of entry, these companies would have to use a permit
for every ton of carbon dioxide that would be released into the atmosphere once that fuel
is burned.
When they run out of permits, they cannot extract or import any more carbon polluting
fuel.
To keep the climate from rising 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, the goal of the Paris
Climate Accord, we need to slash emissions by roughly 90%.
Accomplishing this by 2050 would demand reductions of 7.5% per year.
Currently we’re decreasing at a rate of 1.2% per year.
With a carbon cap, in order to ensure we meet our goals, we could simply decrease the amount
of permits issued by 7.5% every year.
But how would we do that without Americans getting clobbered by higher prices at the
gas pump?
That's where the carbon dividends come in.
The revenue from selling the permits will be distributed back to the public as direct
payments, no strings attached.
For the majority of middle class and poorer Americans, the dividend will more than cover
any increase in fuel prices, and they’ll come out ahead.
The earth’s capacity to absorb carbon is a natural resource, one we should share equally,
instead of giving the wealthy and oil profiteers free reign.
Plus, everyone benefits from a cleaner planet.
One study found that nearly a quarter million premature deaths would be prevented over the next 20
years in the United States with a carbon fee and dividend program.
Now I know what you’re thinking right now.
Sounds nice, Bob.
But it’ll never happen.
Don’t be so sure!
The idea is notably popular across the political spectrum.
Carbon dividends were first proposed in 2009 in a bipartisan bill, and subsequent plans
have come from both Republicans and Democrats.
And there’s already precedent for parts of this program.
Since 2009, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has capped and sold carbon permits to power
companies in 11 Northeastern states.
It is boosting their economies and has proven politically resilient.
And in Alaska, every resident receives between $1,000 and $2,000 annually from the Alaska
Permanent Fund, which invests the state’s oil royalties.
Over 80% of Alaskans say it improves their quality of life.
We treat gas prices as something out of our control, giving dangerous amounts of power
to petro-states like Russia – with alarming consequences.
By weaning ourselves off gas dependence, we’d gain relief from dirty air that kills
millions globally; relief from the constant hemorrhage of government subsidies for fossil
fuels and from wars for oil; and, above all, relief from the ongoing destruction of the
earth’s climate.
None of this is impossible.
The best way to contain Russia, and build a sustainable future, is with a carbon dividend.