I was pleased to read that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wants legislation to address climate change. This Chamber is the largest lobbying group in the USA and supports Republican political candidates. On Jan. 19, the Chamber unveiled its proposal.
The Chamber welcomes President Biden’s action to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. The Chamber says, “We believe that there is much common ground on which all sides of this discussion could come together to address climate change.” The Chamber says, “Durable climate policy must be made by Congress” and, “Inaction is not an option.” The Chamber supports a market-based approach to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Many economists advocate a fee on carbon emissions as a market-based approach to addressing climate change. A bill was introduced to Congress in 2019, titled “The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR763).” This act puts a fee on carbon emissions. All proceeds from the fees would be returned to the American public via “carbon dividends.” I’m hoping that the Republican and Democratic Legislatures will support this bill or a similar one.
Russell Patterson, West Valley City
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