Letter: Support climate legislation

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently updated their position on greenhouse gas emissions and now supports a “durable climate policy,” including “a market-based approach to accelerate greenhouse gas emissions reductions across the U.S. economy.”

The new climate statement reflects where corporate America is headed on climate and sustainability issues and is the result of more than a year of member surveys and task group debate over the approach, said Marty Durbin, president of the chamber’s Global Energy Institute.

One such market-based approach is the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a bipartisan bill in the previous Congress (House Resolution 763) which had 86 co-sponsors and is expected to be reintroduced in the new Congress.

This bill places a fee on carbon at its source, such as an oil well or coal mine, and returns all of the net revenue monthly back to households to pay for the added costs.

Under the bill, 80% of middle- and low-income families receive at least as much in dividends as they paid out in added costs. The fee increases annually until greenhouse gas emissions drop 90%. Independent studies show the bill would result in a 40% of greenhouse emissions reduction in 12 years and up to 90% in 30 years as producers and consumers move toward cleaner, less expensive options.

Other significant benefits arise from the bill: more than 2 million added jobs and almost 300,000 premature deaths avoided due to improved air quality in 10 years.

Contact your member of Congress and tell them to support or cosponsor this bill when it gets reintroduced so we can start to reap its benefits.

__________

Greg Kempf

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One thought on “Letter: Support climate legislation

  1. If this was less about control and more about the environment it might hold water. Once we get the remainder of the worlds standards to ours all we are doing is reducing the quality and viability of life in the USA to integrate us into the global community. If the remainder of the world can be brought up you must bring the US down to there level.
    And the jobs are a fallacy I want to see a business plan to support it. We saw what renewable energy has done in Texas, probably will be real effective in International Fall, Minnesota.

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