Climate Lobby Seeks AZ Dems’ Endorsement of Carbon Dividend Act

The Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) has called on the Arizona Democratic Party to endorse H.R. 763, the bi-partisan Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. The lobby is a non-profit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization that addresses climate change.

Democrats will consider the idea at their statewide meeting on April 13, 2019, at Rincon High School, 421 N Arcadia Ave, in Tucson.

The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act will impose a carbon fee on coal, oil an natural gas at the first point of sale. These fees will go into a trust fund that will rebate all the money to American households, with adults getting a full share and minors under 19 years old getting a half-share. The rebates can be spent on any purpose.

The law would reduce America’s emission by at least 40% within 12 years, and by 90% by 2050. It will preserve current environmental regulations like auto mileage standards, and regulate CO2, which is not regulated at all. “This bill is good for the climate, good for people, and consistent with the values we have always articulated to our volunteers,” said CCL spokesperson Patsy Stewart.

According to CCL, the Act is:

Effective: This policy will reduce America’s emissions by at least 40% within 12 years. It’s supported by economists and scientists as simple, comprehensive, and effective.

Good for people: It will improve health and save lives by reducing pollution that Americans breathe. Additionally, the carbon dividend puts money directly into people’s pockets every month to spend as they see fit, helping low and middle-income Americans.

Good for the economy: This policy will create 2.1 million additional jobs over the next 10 years, thanks to growth in the clean energy economy.

Bipartisan: Republicans and Democrats are both on board, cosponsoring this bill together. The majority of Americans support Congress taking action on climate change, including more than half of Republican millennial voters. Solving climate change is too urgent to get caught up in partisan politics.

Revenue Neutral: The fees collected on carbon emissions will be allocated to all Americans to spend any way they choose. The government will not keep any of the fees collected, so the size of the government will not grow.

Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) and 17 co-sponsors introduced the bill in January, and it is now in the Subcommittee on Energy.

H.R. 763 would benefit Arizonans by sending the revenue from fees on carbon to households monthly and protect poor and middle-class families from rising prices, create new jobs, stimulate the economy of all local communities, and would encourage market-driven innovation of clean energy technologies especially solar, Arizona’s most abundant resource.

The bill arrived as the National Climate Assessment is warning of harm to Arizona and the Southwest from changes in the climate due to carbon emissions: decreased snowpack and water shortages affecting surface water and groundwater, increased warming, drought, insect outbreaks, threats to agriculture, increased wildfires, disruptions of urban electricity and costs to the public health.