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PrimaryCareofBrookhaven.com
Activist explains carbon fee and
proposal intended to
impact climate change
BY KEVIN C. MADIGAN
A bill to combat the effects of climate
change introduced in the U.S. House of
Representatives earlier this year was the
subject of a Rotary Club of Sandy Springs
presentation on Nov. 18.
The Energy Innovation and Carbon
Dividend Act of 2019 (H.R. 763) propos
es a fee on fossil fuels at sources, such
as wells and ports, with the money being
distributed to each citizens as a dividend
to spend however they like. The idea is to
tax carbon emissions at their source to
promote innovation of clean energy tech
nology and reduce greenhouse gasses.
The bill is largely based on a motion
of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which de
scribes itself as a grassroots advocacy or
ganization focused on national climate
change policies, and was represented at
the Rotary luncheon by guest speaker
Donna Melcher.
“Climate change is considered a
threat-multiplier,” said Melcher. “Things
that were already problems are becom
ing worse due to climate change - wheth
er it’s farmers who can’t sustain their
farms because of drought, or people who
are disadvantaged and are running from
severe weather events, or disease that’s
spreading because temperatures are hot
ter. Those who are least able to adapt to
a changing climate are the ones that are
most impacted.”
Many of the effects of global warming
will be felt in the Southeastern United
States “because of our coastal areas,” she
said, adding that between $38.2 billion
and $68.7 billion worth of coastal proper
ty will be under the sea by the year 2050.
“It’s something we need to pay at
tention to,” Melcher said. “There is 97%
agreement among scientists that green
house gasses are mostly caused by hu
mans. It’s serious.”
Rotary International has been in
creasingly active of late regarding cli
mate change, Melcher noted, with pro
grams in place on family planning, young
girls’ education and regenerative agricul
ture, among others.
“The carbon fee and dividend plan has
gotten a lot of people excited and is get
ting bipartisan support because it’s good
for the environment, the economy and
for people, and it’s healthy for the plan
et. It’s revenue neutral too which means
it doesn’t grow the government,” she said.
That bipartisan support is not readily ap
parent, however, with U.S. Rep. Francis
Rooney of Florida being the sole non-
Democrat listed in Congressional records
as a co-sponsor of H.R. 763.
Melcher said that members of Con
gress from Georgia who support it in
clude Rep. Lucy McBath of the local 6th
District and Rep. Sanford Bishop of the
2nd District of the Columbus and Macon
areas.
The proposed carbon fee for the first
year would be $15 per metric ton of car-
bon-dioxide-equivalent. The fee increas
es by $10 per ton each year ($15 if emis
sion targets are not met) and the fee
ceases when emissions reach 10 percent
of 2016 levels.
According to the official description
of the bill, the money collected from the
carbon fee would be allocated in equal
shares monthly to citizens to spend as
they see fit. Program costs are paid from
the fees collected, and the Department
of the Treasury does not keep any of the
funds other than administration costs.
Melcher suggested dividend recipients
could use the money “to defray energy
costs, or they can use it to reduce their
carbon footprint, or buy a new energy-ef
ficient car. Whatever they want; it’s their
choice.”
The concept of the plan is to give a sta
ble signal to the market that the cost of
carbon is going to include all its other fac
tors, including the cost of pollution, thus
spurring innovation in the clean energy
field. Under the policy, goods imported
into the United States would be assessed
a border carbon adjustment, and export
ed goods would receive a refund. Military
and agricultural use of carbon is exempt
ed from the plan.
The Citizens’ Climate Lobby estimates
114,000 lives are lost annually in this
country due to air pollution, and that
295,000 lives would be saved through
2030 with improved air quality.
An attendee at the Rotary event ques
tioned Melcher about the detrimental ef
fects the bill could have on the fossil fuel
industry. She responded that Exxon, Brit
ish Petroleum and Shell Oil have all ex
pressed support for the initiative.
Another member was skeptical about
the model and didn’t see how the govern
ment could be trusted to implement it
correctly. “The reason it’s going through
the Treasury [Department] is so we can
use existing channels for distributing
checks properly,” Melcher replied. “Brit
ish Columbia [in Canada] has had this
type of program for about 10 years, quite
successfully. It’s had a dramatic impact
on emissions.”
The North Atlanta Chapter of the Cit
izens’ Climate Lobby meets every third
Thursday of the month at 6:45 p.m. at
the Blue Heron Nature Preserve, 4055 Ro
swell Road in Buclchead.