Climate: Revenue-neutral carbon fees needed

RE: “Inaction on climate change costing US billions, GAO finds” (TNT 10/25)

In this headline, “US” means United States, but it also means ”us” as in you and me, the taxpayers. Fires, floods, hurricanes and droughts are forcing US/us to spend hundreds of billions in disaster assistance. Climate change makes these disasters “more common and intense.” That means more and more hundreds of billions from US/us taxpayers.

We taxpayers owe a thank you to Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Washington’s Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell for requesting the nonpartisan Government Accounting Office study this issue. The report stresses the Federal Government is not planning for costs associated with these climate change related disasters. All reputable climate scientists tell us the disasters will worsen if we do nothing, so taxpayers will pay more and more for our government’s inaction.

To slow and eventually reverse climate change, ask Congress for a rational, transparent, and business-friendly policy: revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend, as proposed by Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL). Senators Collins and Cantwell asked a nonpartisan question, CCL has a nonpartisan solution. It will reduce greenhouse gases, promote solutions to climate change, and put money in your pocket. It makes sense/cents!

This story was originally published November 8, 2017 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Climate: Revenue-neutral carbon fees needed."