Letter to the Editor: Carbon pricing key to climate plan

While it’s great to read that House Democrats are engaging in climate solutions (“House Democrats Climate Plan would end greenhouse gas emissions by 2050” June 30), I must correct some stated misconceptions about carbon pricing. Although there is no silver bullet to solve the climate crisis, according to MIT’s En-Roads climate simulator, carbon pricing is the most effective single policy as it alone applies across the entire economy. Without carbon pricing, we’ll be forever playing “whack-a-mole” fighting each carbon source individually.

The Democrats’ latest plan favors carbon pricing but fails to acknowledge that a well-designed carbon fee and dividend (think “carbon cash-back”) must be included to make other facets of the plan more palatable by creating political and economic demand for clean energy alternatives As Columbia University economist Noah Kaufman states: “With a gradually increasing price on carbon we can succeed, without it we fail.”

Encouragingly, independent studies affirm that carbon cash-back programs, like the bi-partisan “Energy Innovation Carbon Dividend Act” (HR 763), predominantly help the poor and middle class, while border adjustment fees protect U.S. industry and encourage U.S. trading partners to adopt similar carbon pricing policies.

Maine is again in a unique position. We are the only state with both of our senators on the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus. Please ask Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins to join Rep. Pingree and endorse effective and equitable climate action like the carbon cash-back policy of HR 763.

Annie Antonacos
Portland

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